Protogenoi Army: A Whole New Life
by KimJoysu
Summary: Percy left Camp because the new camper made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has begun!
1. The Great Boycott

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Prologue: **The Great Boycott

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

**The Great Boycott  
><strong>

"Jerk!"

"It's all yours and Drew's fault!"

"If not for you, _he_ wouldn't have left!"

Shouts of the campers of Camp Half-Blood were all directed at a tall guy in the center of the assembling of demigods. He was 6-feet tall, deeply tanned, and would be immediately recognized as a bully with his resentful looks. The guy had got black eyes and red hair. He was big and bulky, the evidence of him being a son of Ares. He was standing still, arms crossed, eyes blood-red with anger.

"SHUT UP!" The son of Ares shouted. The campers didn't listen to him, though. They started throwing things at him.

"You deceived us. You made everyone your tools for getting rid of _him_. You will pay for that, Russel." Jake Mason, the new counselor of the Haphaestus cabin, spoke through gritted teeth.

"Ha! Me, you say? If Drew didn't help, my plans couldn't have worked. You should blame her, not me," Russel said.

"You ungrateful, arse-licking, disgraceful, power-hungry son of a bi*ch! Even now, you still blame her? Wasn't it you who used her as a tool to charm-speak us into believing you, freak?" Someone from the Aphrodite cabin yelled.

"Yeah. So what? He's _gone_. You can do nothing about it. Why are you still angry at me? And where is Drew, anyway? Has she gone home or been hanged already? Borrrrring."

"You piece of sh*t! Go to Tatarus!" The campers cursed.

"Silence." A voice from behind stopped all the ruckus. It was Chiron, their Camp activities director. The centaur came toward them on a wheel-chair with Annabeth, eyes red from crying, after him.

"Ah, here you are, Mr. Chiron. Came here to kick me out of camp or send me off somewhere, perhaps?" Russel asked in a sarcastic and mimicking tone.

"Shut the hell-" The campers started to speak, but Chiron cut them off.

"Neither of that, child. I just wanted to use logic and reasons with you," he said calmly.

"Logic and Reasons? I don't have any of them. If I had one, I wouldn't have done what I did!" Russel laughed loudly. The other campers balled their fists, wanting to punch him. Only the Ares cabin kept quiet.

"Drew has gone back to her home. She said she couldn't bear the pressure and guilt. What about you, Russel? What will you do next? With your hated camper gone, you can do what you intended to do when you first came here, three weeks ago." The centaur asked with blank expression, as if there was nothing left he could hope from this guy.

Russel smirked, then gestured at Annabeth. "Get her, of course."

Annabeth's gray eyes turned murderous. She reached for her dagger, but Chiron stopped her with a meaningful look in his eyes. She calmed herself, trying not to do anything she called "weak" in front of everyone's eyes. If she did let a tear drop from her eye, there would be tons of tears following it. Despite her attitude, she was the most likely one to be killing Russel herself. She hated him. That wasn't just saying. She _really_ hated him. She wanted to cut him into a million pieces like Zeus did to his father. But before that, she would have to put all her willpower into searching the love of her life who has disappeared four days ago. She _had_ to find him and bring him back, and she knew she could do it.

"I'm sorry, but that couldn't happen, child. Annabeth doesn't love you, she loves someone else," Chiron said and the demigods nodded furiously.

"You think I'm stupid? I knew that! I did what I did because of this. And now that that trash's gone, I'll enjoy my reward. Come here, baby, Annabeth." The son of Ares wriggled his forefinger at Annabeth, who was trembling with rage.

"Stop it, Russel. You're going too far," Clarisse said. All of the Ares campers agreed.

"Oh, what the heck? Even my beloved siblings are betraying me and siding with that unwanted spawn? Have you guys gone mad? You said you disliked him!"

"Yes, we did. But despite our fights and quarrels, he was still a great friend and a respectful fighter. He was brave and straightforward like us, somehow. But what you did, Russel, it wasn't anything near any of what I said. You are a coward. A child of Ares shouldn't be like this. You're a disgrace to our father. We're really disappointed." Clarisse stated. She then shook her head when she realized what she just did. "Ahhhh, I just complimented that Prissy! I couldn't believe it!"

"Even though I'm shocked by this, all you said is true. He was a really good friend, and really loyal, too," Katie Gardner, counselor of the Demeter cabin, said.

"Could you guys stop referring to him in past tense? It's ominous," Annabeth said in a quiet voice. The campers looked at her and mumbled their apologies.

"WHAT THE HELL? You fools are blind! He's already gone. Stop this nonsense and make me your leader!" Russel shouted.

"Dream on, bastard!" The demigods yelled back. They would have gone further if Chiron hadn't stopped them.

"Peace, children." The centaur continued, "I see we really can't make you guilty for what you did this way, so I'm now telling you, Poseidon wants to talk with you for a moment. Will you go and meet up with his servants at the beach? If you meet them, I'm sure they will bring you to Poseidon's court safely."

Russel's face turned as white as paper. The campers laughed at this. They looked at him triumphantly and then pathetically, as if they were looking at his grave.

"That coward went and told his father, right? What a chicken!" Russel spat.

"No, Russel. From what I've heard, Poseidon still couldn't detect any signs of his son in his domain," Chiron said grimly.

"Then that dude must be dead by now! Stop searching for him already, Annabeth!" The son of Ares told Annabeth. She shook her head, a signal to him for "No way". She was too disgusted by him to even look at his face, much less to talk to him.

"First things first, Russel, you should go to the beach _now_. Ignoring a summons from the God of the Sea can't be good for you. Don't forget that Poseidon is the Earth Shaker. Earthquakes could happen around this area at any minute." After he finished talking, Chiron left with Annabeth right behind him.

"Haha, you're dead, Redhead." Some campers said to him.

"No way in hell, punks. I'm a son of Ares. Dad will protect me."

"Don't be so sure about it, Russel. As I said, our dad hates cowards, and he won't bother defend a cowardly boy you are. But I mean you no harm. I want you to be alive, if possible. One thing, though, you better don't come back here after you visit Poseidon's court. No one welcomes you here, even us. We greek demigods don't appreciate cowards or dirty-minded half-bloods like you. Good luck, and goodbye, Russel," Clarisse said, before she walked away with her cabin mates. After that, all the demigods around Russel stuck their tongues at him and left, as well.

"Arrgh! Curse him!" He stomped his foot at the ground. Russel contemplated what Chiron had told him and fear gripped his heart. There was no way the Sea God wanted to reward him for his good deeds.

'Hey, kiddo! You did great on kicking my son out of Camp Half-Blood! Congratulations. I'll have my servants build you an underwater palace. Isn't that great?'

_The hell with this camp. I won't bear it anymore. Sea God or whatever, like hell I would go! I'm not a dumb!_ He thought. Russel then made up his mind and started to run. He passed the cabins, the strawberry fields, the property line, then he was out of camp. He stood at Half-Blood Hill, overlooking the once-lively camp he had changed into a sorrowful one. He then turned his back and walked away, never looking back even once.

* * *

><p>Annabeth sat at the beach. Her gray eyes focused at the sea. By looking at it, the memories she valued most flooded into her thoughts. She felt lonely again. She remembered it, everytime she came to this place, sat on this spot, there was someone with her, someone who she had wronged, someone who she truly loved…<p>

Somebody tapped her left shoulder. Annabeth jerked, hands reaching for her dagger, but a voice of the boy she considered a friend stopped her. "Can I talk with you for a moment?"

It was Nico Di Angelo, the son of Hades. It seemed the boy just shadow-traveled from somewhere far away, he looked exhausted. Annabeth smiled slightly and nodded. When Nico sat beside her, she asked, "What do you want to discuss with me?"

"Where's Percy?"

Straight to the point.

She felt like ten thousands stilettos had stabbed her through the heart.

Annabeth took a deep breath, then she answered, "I-I don't know."

Nico was silent for a while, then he spoke, "…Tell me the story."

"What?" She asked, though she already knew what he meant.

"Tell me why Percy has disappeared."

Annabeth swallowed. She didn't want to talk about this topic, but she knew she would have to tell Nico. He deserved to know.

"There is this new camper, Russel, son of Ares," she said his name resentfully and wrinkled her nose in disgust, then she continued, "This guy-this _jerk_-came to camp three weeks ago with the help of Percy. If not for Percy killing the human-eating Cyclops before it made Russel its dinner, he would have died. He should be very grateful for Percy. Unfortunately, that bastard wasn't."

Annabeth clenched her jaw but kept on telling Nico the story, "He met Drew, and with his okay looks and flattery, he got her falling in love with him. Like a heartless beast, that jerk Russel told her to charm-speak everyone in camp into believing that he was great, he was a hero. With her efforts, Drew got us one by one, except me and Percy. When she realized that charm-speaking me would never work, she blew some freaky-Aphrodite-thing perfume into my nose when I was unaware. My mind started to work strangely, my head went hazy, and I became like all the campers that were charm-spoken by Drew. Although we were brainwashed, we still hung out with Percy. Then Russel told us to choose, if we wanted him at camp, we had to ignore Percy and pretend he didn't exist or he would left. Still in a trance like that, we had no choice but to obey because we didn't want to lose _our_ _hero_."

Nico cursed under his breath. Skeleons began to pop up from the ground continuously. Annabeth wasn't bothered by this; she was used to it. When Nico got frustrated, skeletons were restless, too. She continued, "For one week, we didn't even look at his face. I admired and respected Russel like he was a god, even though he has done nothing to be complimented with. It was Friday, four days ago, that I noticed that Percy was nowhere to be seen. Senses came into me and I realized what just occurred. I came to Drew and threatened her to tell me everything she knew. I blackmailed her-you don't have to know what method I used, just know that it was really deadly that she had to betray her love-to undo her magic. She did. And here we are, regretful demigods searching for our _real_ hero who went missing."

Nico frowned. He inhaled deeply, trying to control his temper, then he asked, "Have you told Thalia?"

"Yeah, I did."

"What did she say?"

"She said she would come back to Camp to strangle that piece of junk to death."

"That's what I will do before she gets here. Where's that scum?"

"Poseidon has a summons for him. I think he has fled, because if he hasn't, he would be here to meet the Sea God's servants to go to his court by now," Annabeth answered.

"What a coward. I swear I'll send my skeleton warriors after him," Nico said angrily. For a while they just sat there, not talking to each other, just swimming in their thoughts. Then Nico straightened as he realized something.

"Hey, why didn't Percy pray to his father for help? I'm sure Poseidon would help his favorite son immediately."

"Percy probably has, but Poseidon was busy searching for his wife, Amphitrite."

"What?"

"Since Percy was offered immortality, Amphitrite and Poseidon had been arguing and having quarrels. She said Poseidon liked this son too much and has neglected her. They argued for several times before she disappeared. So, at that time, Poseidon was very, very, busy trying to search for his angry wife. Maybe he didn't hear Percy's prayers."

"Wow, women. They are always like this," Nico said. He clamped his mouth shut when he saw Annabeth glaring at him.

"Anyways, Nico…Try to search the Underworld, and if there was any sign…" She faltered. Nico placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded, understanding what she meant.

"I got to go. I will search the Underworld like you said and maybe I'll ask my father about this, too."

"Thank you, Nico." Annabeth smiled gratefully. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear any news from him about the Underworld, though.

"By the way, Annabeth, it wasn't yours or anyone in this camp's fault. It was that bastard Russel's fault. And maybe Drew's, too. Don't blame yourself." Nico said before walking off.

Annabeth sat still, not moving for a long moment.

"Not my fault, huh? It certainly _was_. And I'm the one to blame for it. Once again, my mother, I know you hate him, but please help me find Percy and bring him back home," she prayed.

**To Be Continued.**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Note: <strong>That was the Prologue. Like it? Hate it? Please R&R. I'm sure there are many, many mistakes in this chapter. I'm new at this and this story is my first fanfiction in English, after all. _You can guess what will happen in the next chapter, whoever wins will get to ask one question about whatever he/she wants to know_. Next chapter will focus on Percy and Percy. So don't get bored beforehand! (Oh? That rhymed! Haha.)


	2. The Freaking Lucky Charm

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter1: **The Freaking Lucky Charm

* * *

><p><strong>1<strong>

**The Freaking Lucky Charm  
><strong>

"Are you sure my mom and Paul are safe?"

"Absolutely sure. Look, monsters aren't interested in attacking mortals, but tearing demigods into shreds? That's exactly what they want most. So you'd better stay away from your family for a while, especially since your Mum's bearing Paul's child."

"Yeah…guess so. But not just _a while_, for a long, long time."

Percy closed his eyes. He felt stiff. No wonder at that, he had been sitting in this Ferrari 458 Challenge (That was what the guy told him) for hours now. Why didn't they take a break? That wasn't easy, considering where they were. One: there was no road. Two: There weren't any supermarkets nor gas stations. Three: he _so_ wanted to, but he couldn't pee, at least, not in a car. Four: the thing was, they weren't on the Earth. Five: they were somewhere outside the Earth. The outer space.

That sounded cool, but actually, it wasn't.

All around him was pitch-black, except for some light from the comets. Percy was also sure that this car wasn't just Ferrari. What kind of sports car moved, like, 10,000,000 light-years an hour, anyway? It moved so fast that he couldn't even observe his surroundings clearly, all he saw was black and white.

"Don't be so upset. I guarantee you'll find your new home very warm and peaceful. You'll make tons of friends. Moreover, there is no point in staying on Earth anymore, is there? You left Camp and stayed at your home, but your sweet little family life was ruined by the monsters, so you came with me to avoid making problems, and that was a smart thing to do," the Powerful Guy In Black, as Percy liked to call him, said.

Percy nodded slightly, digesting the comforting words he heard. He thought about the day he had met the guy and slowly drifted off into his dream.

* * *

><p>The day was Thursday 28th, one week before he left Camp Half-Blood. As he was sitting on the beach alone, because everyone was busy following that shuck-faced Russel and avoiding him, a man suddenly popped up beside him, smiling.<p>

"Hi," he said. The guy was tall and good-looking. He seemed like he was at his twenties. His clothes were all black, black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers. His skin was a bit pale, but it seemed to glow. He had got neck-length black hair and black eyes that seemed to be flowing and moving all the time.

"Who are you? How'd you get here?" Percy asked cautiously. He reached for his blade, Riptide, but was stopped by the man.

"Oh, hey, don't bring it out. I'm not your enemy. I just came here to talk with you, Percy," the guy said as he played with his hands, black flames shot out of either of them. Percy knew immediately that this guy was the real thing, with the great powers infiltrating from him and all.

"How'd you know my name?" Percy narrowed his eyes, hands still gripping Riptide.

"Easy, don't talk like you're not famous, Perce. You're the hero of Olympus. How could I not know you?" The guy answered, amused.

"So you are one of us…unless you are a monster," Percy concluded. Surprisingly, this made the man chuckle.

"Nah. Do I look like a Minotaur?"

"No. You wear proper clothes, not just an underwear, and you smell way better."

"And much more handsome?"

"If you insist, then I must say yes."

"Hmm, then do I look like any other monsters you've fought? Like, Hyperborean?" The guy asked.

"No, not at all. If I haven't got color blindness, your skin isn't blue."

"Yeah, I'm not Avatar, and I'm not a monster. So let's get to our business?"

"What do you want to talk with me?" Percy asked, confused.

"I want you to join a certain army."

"_What_? You want me to join U.S. Army?"

"No, not that. It's very far, far away from here. And it suits you more than anything, even more than this Camp." The man turned to look at Percy gently, like he was looking at his own son. Percy stared into his eyes for a moment, then he averted his gaze away. He was afraid that if he had looked at him in the eye for longer than this, he might have gotten lost in those black eyes. He also felt a bit warm in his heart, maybe because there wasn't anyone who really took interest in him lately, who knew?

"What's it called?"

The guy smiled and winked. "You'll know when you get there."

Percy raised an eyebrow. He took a moment to think, then answered, "Sorry, but I'm not interested. My friends and my family are here, and I won't leave them unless they don't need me anymore."

The mysterious man nodded, getting what he meant. "I know. It won't be long until that day, though," he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just remember, Percy, your fate isn't to be here. You belong somewhere else. A camper of Camp Half-Blood isn't what you were destined to be," the guy said as he stood, "I've got to go. But this isn't the last time we meet. Let us meet again soon, Son of Poseidon," with that, he disappeared in the form of warm breeze, leaving Percy there, mesmerized by his words.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Percy? Wake up. We've arrived." The Powerful Guy In Black's voice woke Percy up from his dream.<p>

When he opened his eyes, he stared at what was in front of him, wide-eyed. The freaky-space-driving car floated in front of a huge planet. It was divided into two parts: on the left was green, brown and blue, on the right was dull gray. His instincts told him to never step on the right part of the planet; things might not be lovely for him there.

"Wow," Percy mumbled, a little awed. The guy winked at him, a playful smile on his face. Then he started to drive toward the gray section of the planet.

"Hold on," Percy said, panicked.

"What?"

"Why don't you land on the left side of the planet? I don't think I want to go there."

The Powerful Guy In Black let out a small laugh. He lifted his eyebrows and gave Percy a mischievous smile. "We need to go there because I have a little surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Percy didn't like the sound of it, considering how the-Stoll-brothers-like his smile was.

"Yeah, you gotta see it. I've got a lot in store for you."

_A real bad omen_, Percy thought.

In a short time, the car entered the atmosphere of the planet. Like the time when they got out of the Earth, A transparent black bubble popped up, wrapping around the car. Percy didn't feel the pressure or the heat, he felt nothing except for his aching butt from sitting for too long. His butt was just one case, he almost praised himself for being able to sit still for hours, not surrendering to his ADHD.

When they passed the atmosphere, he got a full glimpse of the inside of the planet. Underneath the car was all gray. That was obvious, they just drove into the right side of the planet.

"Welcome to your new home, Percy," the guy whispered and smiled warmly. Percy returned him a small smile. It would've been much better if the guy had said this when they arrived at the left section of the planet.

The car landed on the gray ground softly. Percy looked around, slightly nervous. All around them was nothing, just a gray clearing that seemed to never end. Looking at it made his heart drop, it was as if this place was some monster lair, nobody ever wanted to enter it, including him. The car started to run normally like the other sports cars, but it was still way faster. Percy wasn't scared of the speed, though. What did he have to be terrified of when there was just the ground and the air? The _air_. That reminded him. There was also oxygen in this planet, which was good. However, when they traveled here, there wasn't any air in the space. Fortunately and strangely enough, there was air in the car, so he was able to breathe.

"So, what's this surprise you told me? There isn't anything interesting here," Percy said.

"Just you wait, Perce," the man replied with a cunning grin.

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered. What's your name?" Percy asked, curious.

"Huh?"

"Your name. You have one, don't you?"

"Of course, I have a name. But it's a secret."

"Secret, _again_? Just in case you want to know, you're spinning my head like a bottle," Percy grumbled. The Powerful Guy In Black just smirked, then, he said in an amused tone, "You'd be shocked if you knew it. Just call me whatever you want."

"Then I'll call you Charybdis," Percy said sarcastically.

The man laughed, "I heard you were sarcastic. Never thought it was true until just now."

Percy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, a sign that he was serious. When the guy saw this, he stopped laughing, although he was still chuckling a little. He said between small laughs, "Okay, I'm sorry. Well, I really can't tell you my name, it's forbidden. But I heard you call the Wine Dude at Camp Half-Blood Mr. D."

"Yeah. I kinda like the way you call him, though."

"Then you'll call me Mr. C. A temporary name before you know my real name."

Percy raised an eyebrow. He made a squeaking sound, "What? Your name is actually _Charybdis_?"

"Of course not, Kelp Head," the man sighed, "You still need to learn a lot."

Percy scratched his head, confused. "Well, what is this place?"

"It's not the Earth."

"I _know_ that. I mean, what's it called?"

The guy Mr. C contemplated this for a brief moment. Then he answered, "The planet of Protogenoi."

"Primeval?" Percy translated the Greek word he heard. Weirdly, he felt that it was a lordly word.

"Yeah. This planet is where you'll start your new life."

"You live here?"

"Yes, and no. I stay here sometimes, but mostly, I travel and travel, so I have numerous houses in the universe."

"Oh, that's great. What do the other planets look like? Are there really Aliens?" Percy asked, then frowned, wasn't that question supposed to be a kid's?

"If you call people who live outside the Earth Aliens, then you'll meet them soon."

"So there are really some people living outside of the Earth? What do they look like?" Percy asked curiously.

Mr. C lifted an eyebrow, then said, "They look exactly like you do."

Percy nodded slightly, surprised. He had never thought of Aliens the people who live on the other planets that way. In his imagination, they had got enormous eyes, green skin and tentacles.

"Also, in case you want to know, they speak the same language as you do," Mr. C added.

"Why?"

"The people here, some of them are from the Earth, like you. So we made English the official language."

"Do they have, like, stuff in sci-fi movies?"

"Hmm, yeah, some of them. But not all. Geez, humans can be very creative about these kinds of things."

"I agree."

Silence followed. As they drove along the gray clearing, Percy observed the place that was going to be his new home, his new life. As abandoned as he was, he still thought the Earth was better. Then he shook the idea away. He mustn't think about the World too much. He couldn't return there anyway. There was no turning back now. Just forward. He must move on, or he would go insane.

A movement beside him caught his attention. Mr. C was sticking something to the half-opened car window on his side. It was something Percy had never seen before, but it looked like a charm to him.

"What is that? And what are you doing?"

"A lucky charm. Makes you luckier," Mr. C answered as the car window slid shut. Now the charm was stuck on the outside of it. This charm was black and blood-red, the really make-you-feel-lucky colors.

Percy frowned. "Hope it works," he muttered.

"It always does. Just wait for it and you'll see the result," Mr. C confirmed, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Percy felt bad about this. Surely, Mr. C was up to no good. And he was certain this whole Lucky thing involved him. They were quiet again, except this time the guy was smiling, and Percy was anxious. He had no idea why Mr. C looked so thrilled, but he somehow knew his life might be at stake.

After ten minutes or so, the ground started to shake. Percy sat up, alarmed. He glanced at Mr. C to see that the man's smile had widened.

"Told you it worked," he said in a too-happy-in-this-situation tone.

"What did you do? What's going to happen?" Percy asked worriedly as the ground shook again.

Mr. C smiled, he then pointed to his right. Percy looked past his shoulder and grasped, "Holy…"

In the distance, very far away, was a big figure. Even from afar, it looked intimidating. It was around 30-feet tall, 10-feet wide, with black hair covering its body. Its face was round and hairy, it also wore an XXXL-sized Viking helmet. It had got a big red eye that glittered in the light, long legs and big feet with claws. The most scary thing about it? Its arms were enormous black two-edged swords. The monster was coming right toward them.

Percy wished Mr. C was driving faster, so they might be able to escape that horrible creature.

Suddenly, the car stopped.

**To be continued.**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Note: <strong>Hey, everyone! Busy lately? I'm so busy, I can only update weekly. And now I'm preparing for the exam, such a busy week. That was the second chapter. Like it? Hate it? Please R&R! Please know that English isn't my first-born language, so I'm not very good at this. As you can see, there are many mistakes in this chapter. _You can guess what will happen in the next chapter, whoever wins will get to ask one question about whatever he/she wants to know_. Next chapter will be next week. Hope you like it, bye!


	3. Talking Cats Are Normal

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter2: **Talking Cats Are Normal

* * *

><p><strong>2<strong>

**Talking Cats Are Normal  
><strong>

"Are you crazy? Why did you stop?" Percy shouted at Mr. C. The guy didn't seem to be listening, though. He got out of the car, stuck his face in, and said, "Get out, quick."

"_What_? Why don't you just get in and drive off? Do you want us to get killed?" Percy asked. He couldn't believe Mr. C was still so calm, as if the thing which was walking toward them was his sibling.

"Because _you_ will fight that thing, Percy."

Percy's jaw dropped. He stared at the man and blinked. "Um, what did you say? I couldn't hear it clearly."

"I said," Mr. C repeated, eyes glistening with joy, "You, alone, will fight Senior Shish Kebab."

Percy choked. "Senior what?"

"Senior Shish Kebab, Viking monster, can only be seen on this planet. Limited edition, you know? Isn't that _lucky_ of you?" The man said matter-of-factly.

"Lucky?"

"Yeah, that lucky charm I put on the car window, it worked, see?" He smiled excitedly.

Percy felt color drain from his face. Soon enough, that Senior Shish Kebab would make them sushi. No, not them. Only _him_. Percy Jackson was about to be made demigod-barbeque.

"Where's my diary? I want to write to my Mum," he groaned.

The ground shook.

"Hurry up, Percy. There are two options for you; fight Shish Kebab or die," Mr. C said.

"There's no difference between them, that's just one option: die. How do you expect me to fight that thing? Is it even in Greek myths?"

"No. It doesn't exist on the Earth, so there is no handbook guiding you how to fight it. You must learn to fend for yourself. Not depending on anyone, just fighting to survive."

Senior Shish Kebab was now a hundred feet away.

"Why don't you help me? You're as powerful as any gods," Percy asked, eyes focused on the monster.

"I cannot, Percy. This is your test. The Trial," Mr. C said, he looked serious for the first time Percy has seen.

"The Trial?"

"Everyone at the place you're going to has been through it. You must take this test so you can live with them. They can do it, then you can do it, too, Perce."

When the Viking monster was just sixty feet away, it started to run.

Percy bit his lip. If this was his test, he couldn't afford to fail it. He sighed, then, said in a small voice, "Wish me luck."

"You'll be lucky today."

Percy rolled his eyes and started walking towards Senior Shish Kebab.

Forty feet. Thirty. Twenty.

As he got closer, he realized how bizarre the monster was. Its hair was so thick, he knew Riptide wouldn't harm its skin. Senior Shish Kebab stopped and looked down at Percy, its big red eye showed that it was really hungry. Then, in a second, its left arm struck down at where Percy was standing.

He jumped, eyes wide with panic when he saw how quick that big monster could move and how strong it was. He gulped as he looked at the huge crack on the gray ground, created by that sword-arm.

Percy didn't have time to be shocked much, though. Senior Shish Kebab kept slashing and striking at him continuously, and with every attack, its movements became faster and faster. He was dodging the twentieth-or-twenty-first blow when he started to run towards it. _Just get closer_, he thought.

The ground shook when the monster tried to make him sandwich under its foot. Percy had to jump further away because of its size. But he didn't have time to waste, so he ran and jumped as high as he could, hands reaching out. As he got to its left leg, his hands immediately grabbed its black hair. Senior Shish Kebab roared and turned around, finding its prey with no success. Thanks to its thick hair, it couldn't feel anything hanging on its body at all. Percy inhaled and wrinkled his nose; this monster needed to go take a bath for at least twenty hours.

He started to climb by using its thick hair as a rope. Senior Shish Kebab was still looking for its enemy in frustration. But soon enough, Percy knew it would notice him. He also knew a three-feet long sword couldn't pierce through its hair.

He remembered his quest to rescue Grover. He remembered how he faced the Cyclops who trapped his friend, Polyphemus. Every time he fought, he either fought with his friends or fought to save them. But this time wasn't any of that. He was fighting for himself. Just like Mr. C said, _You must learn to fend for yourself. Not depending on anyone, just fighting to survive. _

Percy climbed and climbed, his face drenching with sweat. As he was at its chest, Senior Shish Kebab looked down and saw him.

Percy smiled wryly and said, "Good evening, brother. How have you been doing?"

"_Roarrrrrr!_"

"Guess you aren't in a good mood today," he said in a bitter tone.

Senior Shish Kebab raised its right sword-arm, ready to smack him like he was a mosquito. Percy's heart pounded, he knew he didn't have much time. But how would he dodge it this time? He wasn't a monkey; he couldn't climb fast enough. He wasn't on the Earth; Poseidon couldn't protect him here. His only advantage was the Achilles Curse, but would it be able to help much?

Just as its arm was going to hit him, a sudden thought popped up in Percy's mind: _I don't want to die. I'm going to live on._

Percy used Senior Shish Kebab's chest as base to jump and swung himself up to its left shoulder. Only few seconds later, Its arm hit its chest at full force. The impact almost made Percy fall off, but he held on. He ran to its neck and climbed up until he was on its face. Once he was there, Percy uncapped Riptide and jumped three-feet high in the air, the tip of his blade aiming at the red orb.

Riptide struck at it, and Senior Shish Kebab shrieked out in pain.

The monster tripped and fell on its back. Percy saw its hands reaching desperately to cover its injured eye, and he decided this was his last chance to do it before it went mad.

"Sorry," he mumbled and gripped the hilt of his blade, which was still in the middle of Senior Shish Kebab's eye, pulled it out, and ran toward the monster's mouth as its hands moving pass him.

The monster was screaming in pain. Its mouth opened wide. Percy stopped running and, putting all his strength together, threw Riptide into its mouth. The blade pierced through its palate with a horrible sound, and the monster disintegrated.

No roaring. No screaming. Senior Shish Kebab was no more.

Percy fell down on his knees, his heart still racing. He was extremely exhausted. Beneath him was the cold gray ground, above it was the monster's golden dust, and in front of him was its Viking helmet, still in the same size.

He heard footsteps behind him, then a voice said, "You were great, Percy."

Percy turned to see Mr. C standing, a big smile on his face. He tossed a bottle at Percy, who grabbed it and drank it immediately, not caring what it was.

"…Nectar?" Percy asked as Mr. C sat down beside him.

"Yeah, nothing's better than Ambrosia and Nectar when you just fought a big monster."

"It wasn't just big," Percy muttered as he sat cross-legged.

"Uh-huh. Well, what were you thinking when you were almost hit on its chest?"

"I was thinking…'I still want to be alive, so I'll not die.' "

"And what were you thinking when you delivered your last blow?"

"I pitied it. But if it lived, I wouldn't survive," Percy answered with a sigh.

"Yep. That's exactly the thing you must learn before you enter the city."

"The city?" Percy asked, interested.

"One more hour at this gloomy place, and then you'll reach another side of the planet. It's much better than here, you'll see," Mr. C said as he stood and walked toward the Viking helmet. The guy touched it, and the helmet shrank into a cap's size. He brought out a box and put it in there.

"Here, keep it," Mr. C handed the box to Percy and extended his hand towards him.

Percy took his hand and said, "Thanks."

"No problem. You must be tired. Rest until I wake you up," Mr. C said as they got into the car. After that, Percy closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"Oi! Wake up, sleepy head. We're here."<p>

Percy slowly opened his eyes and yawned. He looked through the car glass and was surprised to see a giant white metal wall that extended to no end before them.

"What's that big wall?"

"The Gate. You see, no one ever wants to enter this gray section of the planet, and more importantly, some monsters to get in there. So they just built this wall called the Gate to separate the two sides. They call this side of the planet the Death section, warning their kids not to enter it, and call the other section, where they live, the Life section."

"Didn't you say people who live where I'm going to have been through the Trial-have fought the monsters here before?" Percy asked, confused.

"Yes, I did. But the City of Protogenoi is huge. In some parts of the City, fighters prove themselves by entering the Death section and bring back some monsters' heads."

"Oh, that's right. When we first met, you said you wanted me to join an army. So I'm going to join the army of this city?"

"Exactly. You can be smart if you want, Perce," Mr. C said as the Gate opened. He drove inside quickly as it slid shut again in a short time.

Inside the Gate were farms. Corn, turnip, watermelon, strawberry, and other vegetables and fruits farms stretching out endlessly. The road they were driving on was the only road cut through them.

"Wow. This is the City? Seems more like countryside," Percy said in astonishment.

"No, this is only the Outer part of the City. It surrounds the Inner part of the City."

"It's so huge."

"Agreed. But unlike the Earth, this planet has only one city, so it's obvious that it's huge."

"There are only farms in the Outer part of the City?"

"Mines, lakes, rivers, animal pens, slaughterhouses, factories, junkyards, graveyards, mills, woods, etc. Anything you must have to send supplies to the Inner part of the City. Most people live there, some live here to work."

"This city is well-organized. But what if there are thieves or diseases?"

"Each household has a communicator of its own. Transportation in here is way faster than yours. Besides, there aren't any patients they can't heal."

"That must be great."

Percy watched the scenery as they drove along the road. Mr. C opened the car windows so they could breathe in the fresh, clean air. Alright, he could live here. No traffic-jams, no pollution, no monsters-in the city, at least.

Half an hour passed and he started to see some Greek houses. Most of them were white-washed, built from stone or cement, they had blue domes or no roofs and few windows. There were some wells and rivers, too. Now the concrete road was divided into two lanes, with two footpaths bracing them, typical in the Earth.

Then Mr. C turned right and parked the car at the car park.

"Let's walk from here," he said.

As he and Percy walked along the footpath, Percy saw many people, not a person different from what he has seen his whole life. Just their eye colors and hair colors were a bit rare to see.

_You've arrived…_ A voice said in Percy's mind.

He flinched, then looked at Mr. C and asked, "Did you say something just now?"

"I didn't."

"Then I must have heard it wrong," he mumbled to himself.

_Finally, you're here. I've waited for forever._

"Again?" Percy muttered and looked around. Then his eyes caught a movement above the dome of the house at his left.

It was a cat. A fluffy white cat with rich blue eyes.

It was staring right at him.

_Come quickly, hero._

And then it jumped away from his field of vision.

"They-they have a talking cat?" Percy asked Mr. C, who was grinning at him, bewildered.

"Maybe and maybe not. Who knows?"

"_You_ know. Seriously, you have too many secrets," Percy grumbled.

"Hmm, if you want to know about talking cats, just get to the Army quickly. Why? You don't like cats talking in your mind?"

"You bet." Percy rolled his eyes at him.

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Note: <strong>Hey, guys. Midterm exams are over! Now I'm almost free, except I have to read mangas…Anyway, like it? Hate it? Please R&R! _You can guess what will happen in the next chapter, whoever wins will get to ask one question about whatever he/she wants to know_. I took so long to upload this chapter because I suck when it comes to describing some movements or scenery! So it's not so smooth, but readable, right? Next chapter, next week. Bye!


	4. Senior Shish Kebab Is Awesome

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter3: **Senior Shish Kebab Is Awesome

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

**Senior Shish Kebab Is Awesome  
><strong>

"Well, this is as far as I can go with you. You'll have to make it on your own from here. Just go in there and they'll manage everything."

"Why won't you come with me? Are you not allowed to go in there?" Percy asked.

"Not exactly, but kind of. I'm always a welcome guest, but they never see my face."

"And what's that supposed to mean? I don't get you at all."

"You'll know once you get there. Remember, you are the only _one_ for them. There will be some ruckus when you're Identified. But don't worry; I have an advisor waiting for you. Oh, bring this with you, as well. You won't be able to live in there without having fought a monster in the Trial before," Mr. C said as he shoved the box-which contained the Viking helmet-that he was carrying to Percy. Then, in a flash, he disappeared.

"Wait a minute. Hey! You can't be joking, right? How could he expect me to just walk in there, not knowing anything nor getting any of what he said? Geez! That was mean," Percy mumbled and took a look at what was in front of him again. He stared at a massive, 2-storeys high, 2-miles wide, gray wall with astonishment. Before him, wide-opened, was a huge gate. He didn't know why, but he couldn't observe what exactly was inside that gate. It seemed like some mist was blocking the sight.

"Why don't you just go in?" A voice from above sounded. Percy looked up to see a guy standing on the branch of the tree which was beside him.

"Who are you?" Percy asked.

The guy jumped down from the tree. He landed softly-and strangely, with no sound-then replied in a cheerful tone, "I'm Lucilius Melor. Nice to meet you, dude."

"Um, nice to meet you, too. I'm Percy Jackson," Percy said. Lucilius was tanned and tall. He had got platinum blond hair and bright amber eyes. He was wearing a white hoodless cloak. Just by taking one glance at him, Percy knew immediately that Lucilius was an easy-going type.

"Why were you there? I mean, on the tree." Percy asked, really curious.

"Oh, I was just returning from strolling in the city. The girls in the city kind of lunge at me every time they see me, so I walked on the roofs or jumped at some trees. Although I'd like to talk to some of them, but unfortunately, most of them aren't young today."

"That's both awesome and terrifying. Um, I have a question. I was talking with a guy who wore black. Do you, by any chance, know him?"

"There was a guy with you? Well, I've just arrived, so I didn't see him."

"Is that so?" Percy sighed and glanced at the wall again. Inside that wall was his destination.

"By the way, what's that box you're holding? Can I see it?"

"Uh, yeah." Percy handed the box over to Lucilius. When he opened it, his face turned multi-colored. "It's Senior Shish Kebab's Viking helmet!"

"Yep. I'm surprised you can speak the name quite normally. Who gave it that name, anyway?"

"Hey, Percy…Is this yours?" Lucilius asked, surprise all over his face.

"Yeah. You see, that guy I was talking about said that if I killed it, I could go to the Army. He said it was the Trial."

"You took the Trial? Then you are a newcomer…But, man, your Trial is really amazing. I never thought I would see a newcomer having defeated Senior Shish Kebab."

"Wait, I don't get it. A newcomer, me?"

"Yes. You are going to join the Protogenoi Army over there, right?"

"Yeah, but why did you act like killing that smelly Viking monster was such a heroic deed? Well, I won't argue it's a hard task. I almost got stamped, after all. But I thought the others who went through the Trial defeated some much stronger monsters."

"Dude, no one is crazy enough to go challenge Shish Kebab with little experience, much less Senior Shish Kebab," Lucilius said and jabbed a finger at Percy, "But _you_."

"What the-? But Mr. C said everyone must take the Trial before joining the Army!"

"Mr. C?"

"He's the guy who took me here. He wouldn't tell his name, but said I should call him Mr. C."

"Uh-huh. Well, that's typical. That happened to me as well," Lucilius nodded.

"What? Really?"

"It's true. But I'll take you to someone who can explain it to you better than me. I'm afraid that if I continue to confuse you like this, you will faint. There's so much information you need to know. I'll tell you this, though. Everyone who comes to the Army must take the Trial, but they can fight _any_ monsters in the Death section. Some can even choose which ones they want to fight. I think your patron deceived you there."

"Oh, Styx! Curse that tricky guy. He almost got me killed out there!" Percy swore.

"Pfft. No, no, Percy. You don't curse a Protogenos. That's putting your life at stake," Lucilius said. Although his words were serious, he was chuckling.

"Hmm? Protogenos?" Percy asked, interested.

"Let's come inside first. Then you'll know everything you want to know. I'll come with you, as well. I think your case is pretty interesting. Ah, and keep this. You'll have to use it soon," Lucilius handed the box back to Percy and motioned for him to follow.

They walked through the gate and Percy gasped. The Army was so vast and magnificent. All of the buildings were in Greek styles. The ten-feet wide, natural-stone pathway they were walking on directed forward, but parted to several buildings in the distance. The pathway divided the ground into blocks, which the Army must use them to train or do other activities. Percy was eager to go in deeper, but Lucilius guided him to the right side, saying, "Let's get you a proper guide first."

Lucilius walked towards the gray wall, then looked up and shouted to a fortress that Percy just noticed, "Hey! Rayner! Wake up! There's a newcomer!"

There was a strange _Thud!_ like someone falling off a bed, and a woman-like pretty face stuck out from the window of the fortress. Percy wasn't sure if he was a male or a female; Rayner was really beautiful. He had got sweet big purple eyes, red thin lips, shoulder-length silver hair and healthy complexion. But judging from his name, Percy thought he was a guy.

"Wait a second! I'm coming!" Rayner said-his manly voice confirmed he was a male-and jumped down from the window, 2-storeys high above the ground, and landed soundlessly like Lucilius did. _Wow, these kinds of things must be natural in this army_, Percy thought.

"Dawdling again, aren't you?" Lucilius grinned at Rayner, who shrugged.

"Same as you. Where did you go _during_ the work hours this time?"

"Just loitering. Checking my popularity. Anyways, this is Percy Jackson, the newcomer," Lucilius gestured at Percy.

"Nice meeting you, Percy. I'm Rayner Dallamoor," Rayner said, smiling. Percy realized that Rayner was wearing a similar cloak as Lucilius's, except its color was gold.

"Nice to meet you, as well."

"Hey, Rayner, can you guess what monster did Percy fight in his Trial?" Lucilius asked cunningly.

"What? Just say it," Rayner raised an eyebrow.

"Tsk. You're not fun at all. Alright, it's Senior Shish Kebab." When Lucilius finished his sentence, Rayner gasped. He grabbed Percy's box and opened it, then said, "Oh, gods. It's real…"

Rayner stared at it for a minute and returned it to Percy. "Percy…Have you ever fought any monsters before the Trial?"

"Plenty. After all, I came from Earth."

"Earth? Then, are you a demigod?" Lucilius blurted out.

"Um, yeah."

"Who's your godly parent?" Rayner asked. Percy grimaced slightly. He was uncomfortable about this topic: his past. But he wasn't going to say _It's none of your business _to them like Annabeth did to him.

"Poseidon."

"Seriously? But from what I've heard from the latest demigod who came here, the Big Three were forbidden to have any kids, right?"

"Yes. But my Dad kind of broke the rule. Zeus did, as well."

"Whoa, no wonder why you were so powerful there. Well, I'll show you around, then. I'm sure the others will appreciate you joining us," Rayner said and gestured for Percy to follow him.

"I'll go with you, too. I want to see your Identification," Lucilius said as he walked alongside Percy.

"This Army is called Protogenoi Army. As I'm sure you're from Camp Half-Blood, do you know what 'Protogenoi' means?" Rayner asked as they walked along the pathway.

"Primeval?" Percy said. Being a Greek demigod as he was, the word just sprung from his head.

"Yes. Prorogenoi are the first-born deities whose births are coterminous with the beginning of the universe. For example, you're from Earth, then you'd know Gaea, right?"

"Yeah."

"Uh-huh. I'll tell you their names later when we reach the Tower. Now, look at your left."

Percy did as he was told, and saw some people fighting with swords, spears and other weapons. They weren't wearing cloaks as Lucilius and Rayner did, just casual clothes.

"That's the training field. There are about eight training fields in here. Sword-fighting, spears, archery, guns, etc. There are some planning rooms, libraries, medical rooms, herbal rooms, crafting rooms, as well. They're on the blocks between the pathway. Oh, by the way, we use several weapons which are not Greek. Sometimes, we even use laser guns, Bazooka and RPGs. As you can see, we are the Army of the Universe. We keep things going on rightfully. But the Universe is huge, and we have about five hundred people. Furthermore, some planets have got very high technologies. Like the sci-fi movies you watched on the Earth, they have some crazy stuffs like that. So we have to fight those deadly weapons with the powers the Protogenoi give us."

"Five hundred people and the entire Universe?" Percy asked, amazed.

"Yeah. We of the Protogenoi Army call ourselves the 'Successors'. We're given the powers of our patron Protogenoi to protect the Universe. In other words, we inherit them. We are the successors of the will of the first-born deities who created the universe."

"That sounds cool."

"Yeah, but it needs a lot of efforts. The reason why we have really few Successors is the regulations. The people who can become the Successors must have the rights to be. One: You have to be guided here by your patron Protogenos. I don't know how they choose their successors, but they do only once in a while. Two: the chosen ones must go through the Trial first to become the Successors. Moreover, when you are asked by a Protogenos to go to this army, you can deny his/her offer. That's why we are so few," Rayner explained.

Percy just nodded, digesting his words. They continued walking until the pathway parted to two buildings, located on his left and right, opposing one another. The left one was painted in deep-blue color, like the bottom of the sea. The one on his right was painted light-blue, like the surface of a river. He noticed that the ground on the left of the pathway was all sand, and that the deep-blue building was actually placed on the sea.

"Whoa," Percy gasped and pointed at the building.

Lucilius laughed and teased, "Why are you surprised? A son of Poseidon of all people is surprised to see a House on the sea."

"You call _that_ a house? It's too big to be a house. It's a mansion," Percy said, bewildered.

"Nah, It's where some of us live, so we call it a House," Lucilius shrugged.

"This is the only House that's located on the sea. Look at your right. There's a river, right?" Rayner asked. Percy glanced at his right, and saw a river that was far away.

"It's the river from the Inner City, this river flows through the Army, as well. Actually, It flows through that House over there, the light-blue one," Rayner pointed to Percy's right. It was true; that building was placed on top of the river.

"Strange," Percy mumbled. The other two chuckled.

"Well, it seems that I'll have to take you to the Tower first to make you get all of these. Come on, Percy," Rayner started to walk forward, not stopping anywhere. Percy and Lucilius followed.

"Um, Rayner?" Percy called.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you and Lucilius wear cloaks? The others don't wear them."

"Oh, that's right. How could I forget this? Well, Each House has around thirty Successors, and one General," Rayner explained.

"General?"

"The leader of the House."

"So you're saying you're the leaders-Generals?"

"Yes. Anyways, can you update the news from Earth? I was informed that not a long time ago, the demigods at Camp Half-Blood just had a full-fledged war with the Titans," Lucilius asked.

"Well," Percy started as they walked along the pathway.

* * *

><p>"Here we are, at the Tower," Rayner said.<p>

"Why did we take so long? It's too far," Percy complained.

"Don't whine. This is only halfway until we reach the end of the Army," Lucilius said matter-of-factly. Percy stared at him, incredulous. "It's true," Rayner confirmed.

"Oh, gods. My legs are aching already," Percy grumbled as he followed them to the Tower. The Tower was 7-storeys high above the ground, and made of white marbles. It was a rectangular tower. The Tower had only six small windows, high above. Its top was dome-shaped.

They entered through the doors and Percy found himself in a really big room, which contained several statues in two sizes. The big ones were arranged in a U shape in the center of the room. There were seventeen of them, with plates big enough for a person to sit down in front of all of them. The statue at the end of the U was placed on a higher level. The smaller statues on Percy's left were much to his recognition. There were twelve of them: the twelve Olympians. He thought the smaller statues on his right were the Titans, since he noticed some of them: Kronos, Krios, Iapetus and Hyperion. The room was bright with candlelight. It was painted white, with a huge chandelier and a red carpet. Overall, this room gave off the feeling of holiness.

"Wow," Percy muttered as he looked around, impressed.

"This is the Identification room. The room where all newcomers must come and get Identified," Rayner said.

"Identified?"

"You must know who your patron Protogenos is, right? We all have experienced the same things as you. A powerful person comes to you; asks you if you want to join a certain army; if you accept, he/she takes you to this planet; tells you to take the Trial; escorts you here and disappears without telling you his or her name. It's the things they always do."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, so you must go to this room and get Identified first. I'll show you the names. On your left, as you already know, are the twelve Olympians. On your right are the Titans. From the left side are Hyperion, Iapetus, Coeus, Krios, Kronos, Mnemosyne, Oceanus, Phoebe, Rhea, Tethys, Theia, and Themis. Actually, there are many more Titans, but we chose only the most powerful ones to make the sculptures," Rayner explained.

"Uh-huh. Then…Those are the Protogenoi?" Percy pointed at the bigger statues.

"Yeah. Well, when I explain it to you, try to think about who your patron Protogenos is, okay?"

Percy nodded. Then Lucilius asked in a cheerful voice, "Ready?"

"I think," Percy replied.

**To be continued.**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes: <strong>Sorry for being late, guys! I'm actually guilty, because I wasn't able to update this chapter a week ago. You see, this chapter is about explaining and explaining. I have to build the entire army in my head and morph it into words so you guys can understand what's going on in my head. By the way, I love my characters. I like a guy who has a pretty face like a girl's but has a muscled body of a man. I also like cheerful guys, too. I was late because I had to gather a lot of information to write this. Anyways, I'm sorry. What do you think of it? Like it? Hate it? Please R&R! Next chapter, you'll know who Mr. C is. This time, I swear, next chapter will definitely be next week! _You can guess what will happen in the next chapter, whoever wins will get to ask one question about whatever he/she wants to know_. Bye, guys.

Oh, and this, _a reply to__** Kiransomers' **__question:_ It doesn't have that much of a romance. Although I put it in Romance and Adventure genres, it's actually 90% adventure, 10% romance. So don't expect much to see Percabeth. I focus on Percy's _whole_ new life. But there might be Percabeth later, because I'm paranoid (:P) but it'll be like twenty chapters later.


	5. Mr C?

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter4: **Mr. C?

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

**Mr. C?  
><strong>

"This guy is Pontus, the Protogenos of seas. He sprung from Gaea. His House, you already saw it, the one which is on the sea," Rayner said.

"So his Successors live in the sea?" Percy asked as he observed the long-haired-merman-in-a-deep-blue-hoodless-cloak statue.

"Yeah. His Successors are granted abilities to breathe underwater and sea-involved stuffs. You know it, don't you? You can use them, too," Lucilius replied.

"Then that's pretty cool. I've been to Poseidon's court only once, and I liked it. Must be great to live under the sea."

"Well, only for those who can breathe underwater would say that. Now, the next one," Rayner said as they moved to their right. Before them stood the statue of a kind-looking woman with a long green shawl and a flower headband.

"This is Phusis, the Protogena of nature. Her Successors' powers are very much like those of your Demeter's. But theirs are more special; they can communicate through plants."

"For real?"

"Yeah. That's the reason why the Successors from other Houses don't usually put trees or flowers inside their Houses. Unless you want to be spied on, that is. Because of this, they know our secrets and often blackmail us," Lucilius said bitterly.

"That's creepy."

"Agreed. What if you put a flower vase in a bathroom? Can't even imagine it. But, hey, they can use this power in a good way, as well. It's very helpful in wars. You just talk to a plant that's not too far from a Phusis' Successor, pretending you don't care about other people's weird glares, and then you can tell them important news and get some information. But not too far from 20 kilometres for average. If you have the Phusis' General on your side, you can talk to her through plants from another side of the planet. She's very skilled. Furthermore, she can use woods and logs to her will, too," Rayner explained.

"Wow," Percy whistled. They walked to another statue on the right and he furrowed his eyebrows. Not statue, statues. There were three of them, all of them similar. They were sculptures of three long-haired women with hoodless cloaks standing on what seemed like mini islands.

"These are the Nesoi, the Protogenoi of islands. They sprung from Gaea. Their Successors are given the ability of detaining people. They're also very good at torturing, too. Beware of their Successors, they can get very sadistic when you're in their grip. Don't say I didn't warn you," Rayner said solemnly. Percy shivered.

"The next one is Thesis, the Protogena of creation. Her Successors create incredible new things. Technologies, guns, lasers, etc." Percy looked at the statue of a woman in a hooded cloak. She seemed very neat.

"This is Ananke, the Protogena of inevitability, compulsion and necessity. Her Successors are capable of Making people obedient, interrogating and foretelling future. Ananke is the mother of the Fates, so her Successors can foretell future, too. And the General of the Ananke House, well, she is advanced, she can absorb and delete memories," Rayner explained while pointing at the statue of a dignified woman holding a spindle.

"The Ananke's Successors are proud, self-important and a bit, um, conceit. You shouldn't badmouth or insult them," Lucilius whispered as they walked to another statue.

"This is Gaea, the Protogena of earth. Her power, as you already know, is earth. She isn't always awake, so she appears in her Successors' dreams to guide them to the Army." Percy looked at the sculpture of a reclining woman in a deep-brown shawl and knit his brows. He wanted to tell her 'Teach your son to behave rightly!'

"The next one is Hemera, the Protogena of the day. Her Successors are very powerful at daytime. When we have a war, they rampage the enemies at midday. I don't know where they get the strength from, probably because it's daytime, but at night, they are like bears, they hibernate in their rooms."

"Yeah, you'll never see any of them after sunset unless you go to their House," Lucilis agreed. Percy observed the woman-in-a-white-hoodless-cloak statue.

"This is Nyx, the Protogena of the night. She is opposite to Hemera. Her Successors are super powerful at nighttime. They're truly nocturnal. They live like zombies and vampires. You'll never see them at daytime, because they sleep at that time of the day," Rayner said. Percy scratched his head while glancing at the statue of a woman in a black hooded cloak.

They moved onto the other statue. This one was at the curve of the U and placed in a higher level. It was the sculpture of a proud man in a charcoal hoodless cloak, spreading his arms.

"This guy is Chaos, the Protogenos of the lower air, the air we breathe in. He fills the gap between the bright mists of the upper zones of air which deities breathe in and the floor of the earth. He is the first of the Protogenoi to be born out of nothingness along with the Universe. His powers…Well, honestly, I don't know. I have never even _seen_ his face. He never showed up in the Army. Although if he did, we'd be very pleased to welcome him to our home," Rayner explained.

"Eh? If he has his Successors, why don't you know his powers?" Percy asked, confused.

"The problem is, he doesn't have _any_ Successors. He has never had one," Lucilius answered.

Percy's eyes widened. He asked, "Why?"

"We still don't know why. But I kind of get the idea. You see, from Chaos sprung the other Protogenoi. They were born from a part of his powers. His Successors must be very powerful. So I think he decides not to choose any because they will be too powerful. Like your Big Three, I suppose. Maybe he doesn't want his Successors to use his powers to threaten others," Lucilius repilied.

"Uh-huh. If he had a Successor, that one would be like a ruler or a monarch in this city, you could say that. After all, we Generals take care of the City of Protogenoi. Since we don't have a proper leader, which is Chaos' Successor, we take shifts ruling the city," Rayner said.

Percy nodded. He glanced at the statue again and saw it blinking at him.

His jaw dropped. He stuttered, "L-Lucilius, Rayner, did-did you see?"

"See what?" They asked.

"The Chaos statue, it blinked at me," Percy said, creeped out.

"Nah, you probably saw the reflected light or something. Let's get moving," Lucilius chided.

"Uh, yeah. I must've seen it wrong anyway."

For an insurance, Percy looked at the statue again and saw nothing. He sighed, relieved. It was his imagination, after all.

"The next one is Erebus, the Protogenos of darkness, consort of Nyx. His powers are very like those of Hades'. Darkness and shadows," Rayner said, pointing at the statue of a man wearing a hooded black cloak.

"This one is Aether, the Protogenos of light. His powers are light and sunshine."

"He is super, super great. Always cheerful and easygoing. He tells good jokes, too," Lucilius added.

Percy glanced at Rayner, a questioning look on his face. Rayner sighed, then answered, "Dude, if you're looking for Aether's General, he is here."

"Whoa," Percy raised his eyebrows.

"Let's just move on, I'm sure you don't want to hear Lucilius brag about his patron Protogenos," Rayner said.

The next sculpture was a guy in a star-spangled blue cloak, his hand holding a small zodiac wheel. "This guy is Ouranos, the Protogenos of the solid dome of heaven: the sky. His Successors can do pretty much everything like Zeus' children. But they can create rain, snow and storm, too,"

"This one is Chronus, the Protogenos of time. Also the consort of Ananke. His Successors can control time, with efforts, of course. They can't use the power that much, only against a bunch of opponents."

"But that's still great. Last time Kronos used it on me, well, just a little bit still can't be underestimated," Percy said, crossing his arms. He looked at the statue of a man in a gray hoodless cloak holding a zodiac wheel the size of his body.

"The next one is Phanes, the Protogenos of generation and procreation. He distinguishes from Eros, Aphrodite's son. I'm the General of his House. Our power is healing. We often go out to heal the people in the city, recruit newcomers and show them around the Army," Rayner said, pointing at the statue of a guy in a hoodless cloak who had golden wings.

"The Successors of Phanes must be good-looking, as well," Lucilius added.

"You are one to say? You're always bombarded with questions and kisses from girls at all ages in the city when you go out."

"Let's get moving," Lucilius said, changing the subject.

"These are the Ourea, the Protogenoi of mountains. Their Successors are very strong and tough. They can lift heavy things and are good at boxing and wrestling, fighting with no weapon."

Percy observed the sculptures of three bearded men standing between the gaps of the mini mountains.

"In fact, there are ten of them, but only three agreed to help the Army," Lucilius said.

"The next one is Tartarus, the Protogenos of the great stormy pits which lay beneath the roots of earth. His Successors are capable of making holes underground and trapping people. Beware where you step upon, Percy, you might just fall into one of their pits when they set a trap on you. But their ability of making ways underground is very useful. In a war, you can use them to get to the enemy's camp. And sometimes you just use their shortcuts to avoid women in the city," Rayner explained.

Percy nodded, staring at the statue of a man in a gray cloak.

"The last one is Hydros, the Protogenos of fresh water. His Successors can use the rivers and some drinking water in various ways. His House is at the opposite side of Pontus' House. That light-blue one," Rayner said, pointing at the merman-with-horns-in-a-hoodless-light-blue-cloak statue.

"Now it's time for Identification. Finally!" Lucilius said eagerly.

"How do I do it?" Percy asked, interested.

"Easy. You just choose which one you think is most likely the one who took you here, then walk and kneel on the plates in front of the statues. If you kneel before the right one, powers will surge through your body, and you'll get a tattoo on your right shoulder," Rayner explained.

"A tattoo?"

"Yeah, like this," Lucilius said as he pulled up his sleeve, showing a white-diamond tattoo on his right shoulder. Rayner did, as well. His was a golden-wings tattoo.

"Um, Which one should I try first?" Percy questioned.

"You said he told you his name was Mr. C, right? Then you should try the Protogenoi whose names begin with C letters. There are just Chronus and Chaos," Lucilius said.

"No chance with Chaos, I'll try Chronus first, then," Percy said as he glanced at Chaos' statue. Strangely, it pouted at him.

"GAH!" He shrieked.

"What's wrong, Percy?" Rayner asked, confused.

"Ah, no. It was nothing," Percy replied as he thought, _it must've been my imagination._

He walked to the Chronus statue and knelt down on the plate before it and waited. Nothing happened.

"Weird. I'll try the other males, then."

Percy walked to Pontus' statue and knelt down. Hopefully he would be Identified as Pontus' Successor. He wanted to live in that House. But, again, nothing seemed to happen.

He moved on to Hydros' statue. At least, this Protogenos was related with water, which was fine by him. He knelt down on the plate. Nothing happened.

Percy scratched his head, but still didn't give up. He tried all the other male Protogenoi: Tartarus, Ourea, Phanes, Chronus, Ouranos, Aether and Erebus. But still, nothing seemed to happen.

"I don't think Mr. C is a female, but there's no other choice," he said as he walked to the female Protogenoi side. He knelt down on the plates of Phusis, Nesoi, Thesis, Anake, Gaea, Hemera and Nyx. Nothing occurred.

"What's the meaning of this? Am I not accepted as a Successor?" Percy rubbed his head in frustration. Rayner and Lucilius looked at each other, and then at him.

"There's still one left that you didn't try," Lucilius said.

Percy raised an eyebrow, then asked, "Who?"

"Chaos," Rayner answered.

"Nah, that's impossible. You said it yourself that Chaos has never had any Successors before, right?"

"Yeah, but it can't hurt if you try, can it?"

Percy sighed. "You're right. But don't hope much."

He walked to Chaos' sculpture and uncertainly knelt down on the plate. At first, nothing happened. He almost gave up and stood, but then…

"Ugh!" Something stirred inside him. A power so great from an unknown source surged through his body, just as Rayner said. But he didn't think it would be _this_ much. The pain was almost as bad as when he took a dip in the River Styx. It burned him. He felt like he was about to explode. He was a vessel of an enormous energy that kept filling inside him, seeming to never end.

"Percy! Are you okay! Hang on!" He heard Lucilius and Rayner's voices. They seemed far away.

As his consciousness slipped away, the last thing he saw was the statue in front of him, smiling, changed form into someone he knew…

_Mr. C?_

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu' Note: <strong>Hi, everyone. I did as promised. Here the new chapter! Like it? Hate it? Please R&R! I have to plant some knowledge about the Protogenoi first, before we can move to another step. Oh, and I got the information from the Hesiod myth. Tomorrow I have to help with the class' play. I'm one of the main characters, so my friends don't give me much time to spend with myself. Anyway, next chapter, next week! Bye, guys.

**Reply: TheAwesome101**

Thank you very much! Thank you for inspiring me. I definitely won't delete and discontinue this story. If I begin to write a story, I don't just throw it away. I'll continue it to the end even if there's no review. I'm busy, but I'll try to put more than one chapter in one week. Thank you, again.

And, hey, thanks for my other cute readers who review my story, too! Love ya'll! 3


	6. The Erebus General

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter5: **The Erebus General

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

**The Erebus General  
><strong>

Percy found himself in a luxury room when he opened his eyes. He was lying on an emperor-of-the-universe-sized charcoal-black bed. If he had to find an explanation for this room, he would simply call it a king's room. Its size equaled a gym's. A beautiful big chandelier cast some light bright enough for the whole room. All the furniture was partly golden. The black carpet was made of fur. The bed he was sitting on was at the center of the room. Behind the bed were huge glass doors that led to the terrace outside, now concealed by black curtains. On his left was a set for teenagers: a big-screen TV, sofas, stereos, game stations, a fridge, and a bar. There were some doors to other rooms along the room walls. Sofas and chairs were placed around the room. In front of the bed was a big picture. It was a picture of a marble street, flanked between old-styled houses. It was even bigger than him. Percy glanced at his right side and widened his eyes. It was a big altar, with a short stairway leading to it. At the end of it stood Chaos' sculpture, a really huge one. He was in the same pose the one in the Identification room was. This reminded him of the Zeus and Hera cabins in Camp Half-Blood. But strangely, it didn't make him dreaded to look at. Maybe because its face looked kind? Whatever, it was still better than Zeus and Hera's dignified faces.

"Awake at last, aren't you?" Percy flinched at the unfamiliar voice which sounded right beside him. He looked at the source to find out who it was, and was astonished to see the same cat he saw in the city sitting on a smaller bed which was placed near the bed he was on.

"D-Did you just speak?" He asked, bewildered.

The cat yawned and jumped onto his bed, then said, "If it wasn't me, who was it?"

"But I thought you only speak in people's minds."

"Well, you expected me to shout to you in the middle of the city? You should've told me that."

"But it's okay, isn't it? Talking cats are normal in this city, so they shouldn't be surprised if they saw you chatting with me," Percy said.

"You're absolutely wrong, Percy. There aren't any cats which can talk except for me," the cat said while slowly climbing onto his lap. Percy didn't know what to do, so he caressed it.

"Then what's your name?"

"I'm Nevada," the fluffy white cat with rich blue eyes replied. Percy noted that it was definitely a she. Its voice and name proved that fairly enough.

"Nice to meet you. Although I know you already called my name, but it's Percy Jackson."

Nevada didn't answer. She just purred.

"Anyway, what were you talking about when we first met? And what is this room? Why am I here?" Percy asked, totally confused.

"Percy?" Rayner called as he entered the room from one of the doors.

"Hey, Rayner. You came at the right time. What happened? Why am I here?"

Rayner walked in and sat at the edge of the bed, then said, "What do you remember?"

"The Identification room and the Protogenoi statues."

"Yeah. You were kneeling before Chaos' statue when you fainted."

"Ah, that's right. There was a surge of power inside me, like you said. But I didn't think it would be that much. It was burning me," Percy said.

"Uh-huh. That kind of thing never happened, because your case is special."

"Huh? Why?"

"Look at your right shoulder, Percy. It's because of that thing that we brought you here."

Percy did as he was told. He pulled up his sleeve and was surprised to see a charcoal-black-crown tattoo on his shoulder. "So I was Identified after all? Whose symbol is this? A crown?"

"It's Chaos'" Rayner replied. Percy was shocked for a great thirty seconds, then regained his composure.

"Come on, Rayner. This isn't something to be joking about."

"I'm serious. _You_ are Chaos' only Successor. The only one we'll ever have."

"What? Then…That means I'm the…"

"Yeah, you're the monarch of the City of Protogenoi now."

"No way…It's like this again?" Percy muttered.

"Why aren't you happy? You are Chaos' Successor! I find that strange," Rayner asked, confused.

"It's the same as when Poseidon claimed me at Camp Half-Blood. Because dad is one of the Big Three, I was his only son. I was moved to the Poseidon cabin. No cabin mates, just me alone. I thought that if I came here, my new life would start off in a different way. Heh, but it seems the Fates don't want me to ever be normal like the other kids."

"Being outstanding can make your life tough as well, I see. Hmm, Percy, how did they treat you when they knew you were Poseidon's son?"

"At first, they treated me like an outsider. They just ignored me."

"That's terrible. But you know, we Successors are different. Do you remember what I said? Chaos is always welcome at our home. As well As his Successor. We've awaited your arrival since the very first day this Army was founded. You are very precious to us, Percy. You are our ruler," Rayner said as he gazed into Percy's eyes. And Percy knew he wasn't lying.

"I'm thankful, but, um, I'm an idiot. I can't rule this city. I don't want to destroy it."

"That's okay. No one can do anything without learning. We'll teach you."

Percy kept quiet. But in his head, balls were bouncing. He, a monarch? Did they know his grades? He was no good at studying, mainly because of his dyslexia, partly because of his ADHD. _Fine_, he thought to himself, _I will be a monarch as long as this place is somewhere I can be without being ignored._

"All right," he sighed, "But don't complain later if you find me stupid."

Rayner smiled, "Really, I don't think there's anyone harder to teach than Lucilius."

"Haha, I'm sure you'll find one soon," Percy said as he petted Nevada. She has been quiet since Rayner came in. Maybe she didn't want to talk?

"Oh, right. Percy, there will be a welcoming party for you tonight at the ceremonial field."

"The ceremonial field?"

"It's the big field in front of your House."

"My House? Ah, Chaos' House. Um, do you always hold a welcoming party when there's a newcomer?"

"Yeah, we do. But unlike yours, a newcomer's welcoming party is only held by his House."

"Uh-huh. Say, this room's big. It's inside Chaos' House, right? Is this my room?"

"Yes. I'm so jealous. Your room is twice as big as mine, and my room isn't small, either. Actually, it's pretty big. But, wow, this is the first time I've come to the second floor of Chaos' House," Rayner said as he looked around.

"Why?"

"Only Chaos' Successor, this House's maids, and Chaos himself are allowed to go upstairs. I and Lucilius found that tattoo when you fainted, so we brought you here. The ground floor is always open for us Successors, but only once a week for the townspeople. Once they know of your existence, they will come here and you'll have to hear their petitions."

"Petitions? Aw, come on, this king stuff doesn't suit me at all," Percy mumbled while scratching his head.

"I was like that when I first became General. You'll get used to it soon. Anyway, I've got to go. Sorry, but I have to treat some patients in the city. Don't worry, your guide will show you around. She will be the one who teaches you your works as General of Chaos' House," Rayner said, standing up.

"Well, thanks, Rayner."

"See you at the party, Percy." As Rayner left the room, Nevada started to stretch.

"Why were you so quiet? You didn't talk at all," Percy asked.

"The fact that I can talk is still a secret. I'm going to take a bath. You can go explore the room," she said, walking to one of the doors on the left.

Percy walked around the room. He opened many doors to different rooms. There was an office, which seemed like a library with so many bookshelves, a big working table in the middle of the room. The next room was next to the bathroom Nevada just went in, a big built-in wardrobe. Finally, he pulled open the curtains and went outside the glass door. The terrace was big, he had to walk many steps until he reached the balustrade, but what impressed him was the sight of the sea. Before him, the blue sea expanded to no end. _Maybe I could live with this after all_, he thought.

He realized, then, that Mr. C was actually Chaos. He wasn't going to tell anyone what Chaos was like, that would disappoint them. Chaos, in his and everyone's opinions, must be dignified and solemn. But the one who took Percy here was the opposite.

"You don't look so happy." A woman's voice sounded behind him. Alarmed, Percy turned back immediately, hands reaching for Riptide.

It was a girl. A really gorgeous one. She was tall and really slim. She had got a bit pale skin, big midnight-blue eyes and long silky black hair. She was in a black cloak, a sign that she was a General.

Percy relaxed and asked, "I'm Percy Jackson. What's your name?"

He felt uncomfortable. The girl was a knock-out, but she looked solemn and serious. Her eyes seemed to search him, it felt like they bore through his chest. Her attitude was like that of a queen's. She looked really cold.

"I'm Vivian Quella, General of the Erebus House. I was assigned a task to help you, the only Successor and General of Chaos House, with your works."

As Vivian talked, Percy realized that despite her cold looks, her voice was surprisingly sweet. "So it was you Rayner was talking about. How long have you been standing there?"

"Since Rayner entered the room."

"Um, then-Hm!" As Percy was still talking, Vivian disappeared from his eyesight, then appeared again right in front of him. Now they were only an inch apart. Percy blinked, trying to guess what she was intending to do.

"So you took a dip in the River Styx. Am I right?"

"Yeah…But how did you know that?" Percy replied slowly, making an effort not to breathe. He could feel her breathing.

"Erebus told me."

"Eh? You talked with him? So easily?"

"I heard that the Olympians rarely come in contact with their children, so it's true. But here, at this army, things are different. The Protogenoi often talk to us, mostly through their statues."

"Wow, that's just great. You'd never know how hard it was to get attention from my dad. Erm, anyway, can you move, Vivian? I think you're too close," Percy said.

"I can. But wait a minute. I have to check your abilities."

"How?"

"Keep your eyes open. Don't close them and look into my eyes. Ready," Vivian said as she raised Percy's chin and opened her eyes wide. Percy did as he was told. He looked right into her eyes. They seemed different than when he first saw them. This time, it was like they were trying to suck him in, not letting him get away.

Then, as Percy was sure he'd really drown into her eyes, Vivian averted her gaze.

"You are competent. Worthy of Chaos," she said, moving away from him.

"What-What were you doing?" Percy asked, confused.

"I was reading your past through your eyes."

He widened his eyes. "The Erebus Successors can do that? Cool!"

"Not everyone, just me."

"Why?"

Vivian didn't answer, she turned around and said, "I'm going to show you around and make sure you behave properly at tonight's party. As Rayner told you, I'll be your guide and instructor."

"But why didn't Rayner do this himself? It's his work, right?"

"Because Erebus is close with Chaos. And he'd like me to help you."

"Oh, is that so? Well, I must thank you for your help."

"It's nothing. You're going to be my chief, after all," Vivian said, walking away.

Percy sighed. "Ice-cold, isn't she? Didn't smile even once."

He didn't realize it, but Percy's new life had already begun.

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes: <strong>Sorry for the late, everyone. I was at camp till today. My every muscle aches. My arms and legs are sore. I just didn't get enough sleep and updated, so forgive me if there are mistakes. Well, I think cat suits Percy well as a pet. I've just introduced another important character in this story. I kinda like girls who look cold, but are actually innocent. I won't make her some sissy bitches like Japanese mangakas do with their heroines. Anyway, next chapter will be up sooner as a payment. Look forward to it, guys! Like this chapter? Hate it? Please R&R! Bye.


	7. The Two Advisors

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter6: **The Two Advisors

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

**The Two Advisors  
><strong>

"Well, what do you think about Vivian?" Nevada asked after she came out of the bath.

"She's emotionless. It's more like a robot was showing me around rather than a girl," Percy answered, sitting on his bed. Vivian did show him around the army, and it was amazing. However, the only thing that bothered him was her expression. She was like a talking statue. She was telling him all the incredible stuffs, though. The seventeen Houses were grand and unique, especially his own. He thought the other Houses were huge, but they were two times smaller than Chaos House. It was obvious, though. His House was the only House at the end of the U shape. It must be quite big. Well, but this big of a House, and only him and Nevada to live inside it, how ironic.

"That's her. If Vivian starts laughing and fooling around, don't hesitate to knock her down, because that means the one you're seeing is a fake. Vivian is dignified and mighty-if you might call that cold-she was born blue-blooded, after all," Nevada said, walking up to Percy.

"Blue-blooded?"

"Whatever. Now, what did she tell you about tonight's party?"

"She said it's going to be a party of high society. All the Generals and aristocrats will be there, too. So I'll have to behave properly and make myself respectful."

"Exactly. You are the monarch of this city, Percy. Everyone is looking forward to seeing you. Now the rumors about you have already spread. Some people whom you call reporters are going to sneak into the party. And do you know what they will do? They will broadcast live it. All the townspeople will know you. So if you appear to be weak or incompetent, you won't receive respect from them," she explained.

Percy gulped. "This is harder than I thought. Then what should I do?"

"The beginning is the most important. You must be outstanding, no matter what. In addition, I'll teach you how to use some of Chaos' powers. And, of course, your outfit and courtesy. I'll help you with your speech, as well. You'll-"

"Wait a minute. You are going to teach me to use Chaos' powers, right? And plan my outfit, teach me courtesy, and help me write my speech, too? In about 4-5 hours? The party is going to start at 8, you know," Percy interrupted, anxious.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"You think we can do that? I'm not so sure."

"Yes, we can. You weren't chosen for no reason. Let's begin with your speech, shall we?"

* * *

><p>"Hey, Percy, get up. Don't slack off. We're running out of time," Nevada said, putting her paw on Percy's head. He was lying on his stomach on the floor now.<p>

"Can't you give me a little rest? We've been working for three hours straight, no less than that."

"And you have already memorized the speech and learned how to interact with aristocrats and behave properly like a monarch. See? Our efforts paid off. Now I've got to only train you and bring some clothes out for you. Maybe you'll be able to get some rest after we're done."

"Yeah, okay. And what do I have to do for my appearance?"

"You have to appear there. I mean, literally and suddenly, appear," The cat said, looking as serious as she could with her cute looks.

"What? You mean...I have to hide behind the curtains and then jump out? That's not very cool, in my opinion," said Percy, scratching his head.

"No, no. What I truly mean is for you to move from here, in this room, to the hall, in an instant," Nevada said matter-of-factly.

"What? How is that possible? I'm not a god!"

"Even if you aren't, you're close. Remember, you are a Successor of Chaos. Also, when you were still on Earth, aliens were all crappy nonsense to you, am I right? But look at where you are now. You are currently in the city of Protogenoi, which is in the planet of Protogenoi, so far away from Earth and Milky Way. Just so you know, Percy, I'll tell you that there's nothing impossible for you since you met Chaos. That lazy jerk is always that kind of guy who always surprises you. In fact, he is very much like you, carefree, capable, uncontrollable, and unpredictable."

"So you're certain I can do it, right?" Percy asked, standing up.

"Yes. Now look at that picture," Nevada said, using her paw to point at the big picture on the wall. It was the picture that was in front of his bed. The picture of a marble street, flanked between old-styled houses that was even bigger than him.

"I'm looking at it. Then what?"

"Touch it." Percy did as he was told. He walked up to the picture and put his hand on it. "Concentrate and transfer your powers into it."

Percy contemplated it for a moment. Finally, he asked, "How?"

Nevada sighed. "Did you even try?"

"I did. But, um, I don't know. It just won't come off."

"As I thought. You're used to Olympian powers, right?"

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Normally, when you use your demigod powers, you have to find the sources of your powers, right? In your case, if there isn't any water near you, you can't use your powers. But now you're using Protogenoi powers. It's a different story. You need to release it from _within_ your body, not just borrow the powers from the sources of nature."

"But there are times when I burst out my sea powers from within my body, too. It needs a lot of efforts and concentration, though," Percy argued.

"That's it. Do you remember that sensation when you released it from your body? Now you do that with your new powers, that's all. Easy, right?"

"Alright. I'll try." Percy closed his eyes and imagined a surge of power inside his body like that time in the Identification room. A surge of power. A wave of power. Wave...

_*splashhhhhhhh*_

Salt water came out of Percy's body and splattered half of the room.

"Oh, Styx! I accidentally thought of the waves and the sea water came out instead. Sorry, Nevada," Percy apologized, looking at the dripping-wet cat beside him.

"...Never mind that. It seems you still can't get over your Poseidon powers. Hmmmm..."

"What should we do?" Percy asked, worried.

"Meditate."

"Eh?" Percy wasn't sure if he'd heard it right.

"Sit down and meditate now. I take it that in your body, there are two kinds of powers running through. First, the power you were born with: the power of Poseidon. Second, the power you just received a while ago: Chaos' power. You only called out your dad's power, you haven't used Chaos' powers a single bit. So I'll have you meditate to find where the source of your Protogenoi powers is, which will become your true power from now on. You have a really rare thing in your self, Percy. It'd be a total pity if you just leave it unused. And I guarantee, once you get used to these powers, you will never want to go back to using your old powers again," Nevada explained.

"Right. I will meditate," Percy nodded, sitting down. He closed his eyes and wandered within himself. He felt the familiar power he always used all over his body. Percy searched deeper. It took quite a while before he found the entrance to the unfamiliar powers he had never known exist in him. It felt tremendous and gigantic, like there was no depth of it, like the universe itself. He tried to uncover it, and then...

"Uh!"

"What's wrong?"

"I found it, the source of Chaos' powers...But they are too great, my body can't take them all at once," Percy replied, clutching his stomach.

"And where is it?"

"My stomach."

"All right. Then touch that picture again and try to release your power just a little bit and send it into the picture. Hurry, we don't have much time."

Percy stood up and touched the big picture. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt the flow of Chaos' power in his stomach, and willed it to run to his hand.

*Whooosh*

"What the-?" As Percy opened his eyes, he realized that the picture in front of him which was supposed to be the picture of an old street, has changed into a plain black one.

"Yep. You passed the first step. Now, imagine the place you want to go to. But you don't have to go to the hall now, the maids are preparing the party, if you go now, it won't be a surprise. I advice you go to the throne room. There is most likely no one there now," Nevada suggested.

Percy transferred his flow of power into the picture, and pictured the throne room in his head. When he came back to this House with Vivian, the first room the huge doors led to was this room: the throne room. Vivian told him that every House had this room for the Generals to sit upon the thrones and hear requests from their Successors or pass out orders. But his was different; Chaos' throne room was the place everyone in the city could come and ask for his help or advice, Successors included. Right now it would be completely empty, because the maids would be preparing for the party in the next room: the hall.

"Percy, open your eyes," Nevada told him. Percy opened his eyes and was astonished. The picture in front of him had changed into a picture of Chaos' throne room, just like the one he had imagined.

"Wow," he gasped.

"Step into it," The cat said. Percy looked at her, incredulous.

"Are you insane?"

"Just do it," she insisted. Percy had no choice but to obey, so he put his right leg near the picture. Unbelievably, it disappeared into the fluid sphere of the big picture. Then, Percy decided to jump into it and see what would happen if he did.

*Whooooosh*

At first, there was only black smoke. But when it cleared, the sight before him was actually the throne room. As he thought, no one was in the room.

"Amazing..."

"Percy, return to your room. Quickly." A voice from behind him sounded. It was Nevada the cat.

"Huh? How did you get here?"

"I walked, of course. This room is not that far from your room. Now we've got an hour left. Let's dress you up, shall we?"

* * *

><p>Percy stared at himself in the mirror. The 'Percy' in front of him right now was like what Circe had shown him long ago, but more elegant and older. He fit the monarch image. A black long-sleeved shirt, black pants, black boots, and a charcoal-black robe: Chaos' color. He noticed something strange about his eyes. Normally, they were plain sea-green. But now, like Chaos', they seemed to be flowing all the time. He realized, then, that this flowing in the eyes was what captivated him so much when he first met Chaos, aside from the power radiating from the Protogenos.<p>

"You look like some king, Percy," Nevada praised him, or that was what he thought.

"Yeah, this is _so_ not me. But, well, I think I can tolerate. This way, I look damn cool. They wouldn't reject to accept me as their king," Percy said.

"Right. I'm sure you'll be the best king of Protogenoi City ever, Percy."

"Thanks, but there isn't anyone besides me to be any other monarch in the first place, is there? Since Chaos won't have any Successors other than me," he asked.

"Yeah, that's right. By the way, you know that Vivian will be your advisor, right?"

"Uh-huh. But Chaos told me you are supposed to be my advisor."

"Both I and her are your advisors. We instruct you in different things, though. I'll teach you how to use your Chaos power, and she will teach you how to handle your work as a monarch, shortly, paperwork," Nevada explained.

Percy sighed, then asked, "Is it time yet?"

"Almost. It seems the aristocrats are still at the front doors. Checking their names takes time. I'm sure the news reporters have already come in, though."

"Come to think of it, I haven't met any Generals except for Lucilius, Rayner, and Vivian. What are they like?"

"You'll know when you meet them. I can't quite describe their characters. Just know that they are unique."

"I noticed Vivian and Rayner never mentioned you. Do they really know you?" Percy asked, frowning.

"Nope. No one in this army-no, this planet-knows me. Only you and Chaos get to talk to me," Nevada replied.

"What? But you spoke like you know them so well. What are you, really?"

"I've gathered information about your future-subordinates. And as for your question, I'm your advisor. No more or less than that."

Percy breathed in, trying to understand her words right.

"Looks like it's time. Percy, you need to go now. They have closed the room. The party is going to begin," the cat said, rushing him.

Percy looked at himself in the mirror for the last time, then walked to the big picture. He concentrated his power on his right hand, put it on top of the picture, and imagined the hall. The hall was as big as the throne room, it had been an empty room before the preparation for his party. He pictured the black throne in front of the room, and stepped into the picture.

At first, there were many noises. It was to be expected, it was a party, after all. As the black smoke around him cleared, those noises stopped completely. Silence followed. Percy opened his eyes and saw many amazed gazes on him.

"Nice meeting you all..." He started to speak, in a powerful and calm voice Nevada had taught him. He appeared to be composed, proud, and dignified. Those were all Nevada's doings. But the determined look on his face wasn't taught by her, it was Percy's own expression.

"My name is Perseus Jackson, General of the Chaos' House. I'm looking forward to working with you."

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Yo, guys. I updated as fast as I could. It was slow because I wrote this chapter using Pages (iPhone app for Microsoft word). You see, I was in the exam week, so while I pretended to be studying for test (so that my mum wouldn't scold me) I worked on this chapter by my phone. I wasn't allowed to use my laptop. So this is the best I could do. Sorry if you aren't satisfied. Anyway, please R&R! Like it? Hate it? I want to know your opinions.

Oh, right. Here are some vocabularies: Protogenos=male first-born deity, Protogena=female first-born deity, Protogenoi=first-born deities.

Does any of you read Japanese mangas? Naruto, Bleach, One Piece? I _so_ love them. :D Anyhow, bye!

**Edit: Thanks for your advice, _Rexadex_! I totally agree with you, so I came back to change the last line. Thank you for your attention!**


	8. The Generals

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter7: **The Generals

* * *

><p><strong>7<strong>

**The Generals  
><strong>

Percy looked at the bowed heads of everyone in the room uncomfortably. Not long ago, he had still bowed to the Olympians, but now he was different. He was standing in a different place. He became someone everybody knew. He stood above everyone else but Chaos. How his life must have changed…

He did his practiced speech. All eyes were on him, and he felt kind of nervous. Time would pass, he would do this again and again, and then he would get used to it someday, Nevada had said. Just before he left camp, no one even looked at him in the face, but now…

As he spoke, he caught something in the corner of his eye. A familiar figure, a familiar guy in black…There, behind all of the guests, stood Chaos. He was smiling, seeming overjoyed. Seeing him like this, Percy had the urge to kick his butt. Okay, Chaos brought him here and all, but he didn't have to come to this party. Percy really didn't want the guy to see this. He was the only one who knew what Percy was like before he came here. At that time, abandoned, he was so desperate and pitiful. It was the most shameful moment of his life, and Chaos saw it all. Seeing him here, Percy felt a bit embarrassed. He felt like he was a kid who brought his parents along to school to make them watch his performance on the graduation day. Not even Poseidon, his own father, was with him when he claimed Percy. On the other hand, he felt warm in his chest. Never before had he seen any of the Olympians come to their children's important party.

_Why is he here?_ Percy thought.

_I'm here to congratulate you, Perce!_ A familiar voice entered his consciousness. Undoubtedly, it was Chaos'.

_What? You can talk in my mind like Nevada? Oh, don't do that. It's gross!_

_Why are you so cold? _

_I've always been like this to begin with. Now don't talk. I'm doing my speech._

Percy grumbled under his breath. Even so, he still appeared calm. Keeping his image was Nevada's first teaching, after all. After that, he ended his speech and the people clapped, satisfied. Then, all the Generals stood up from their chairs and walked up to him. They lined up, the first before him was a black-haired guy in a black cloak. He was white, almost pale, and had violet eyes. He knelt before Percy and gave his oath, like Nevada told him the Generals would. Then, as he finished, he introduced himself with a friendly smile.

"I'm Allen Berkeley, General of the Nyx House."

_So that's why his skin is really white_, Percy thought.

_Couldn't agree more, bro. Nyx has this type of skin, too. And Let me tell you, she always appears at night, so when people see her white skin, glowing in the dark, they think she's a ghost_, said Chaos in his mind, snickering.

Percy sighed. He rolled his eyes and decided to ignore him. Then the next General, who was in a white cloak, stepped up front. She had really pretty orange eyes, platinum blond hair, and olive skin. She smiled, and her eyes seemed to gleam with joy.

"I'm Calista Moore, General of the Hemera House. Let's hang out together some time, Percy."

Percy nodded, smiling a little. She was what he would call an average cheerful girl, easygoing and fun. She was pretty, too. He was sure she was popular.

_Yeah, she is. Calista is really cute, just like Hemera used to be. Now Hemera is just a nagging grandma who always knocks on my statues, telling me to work_, Chaos said. Percy pretended he didn't hear him.

The next General was a brown-eyed girl with dark brown hair and dark skin who wore a brown cloak. She looked athletic. She knelt stiffly, like a man would do. She raised her head and gave her oath. And Percy knew she didn't like being a girl. Her attitude was kind of indelicate and tomboy-ish.

"I'm Hannah Rodriguez, General of the Gaea House. I'd appreciate it if you called me Hanson instead. Anyway, nice to meet ya, Perce."

_Oh…_, Percy blinked, surprised. Certainly, he had never met this kind of girl before in his whole life. And he had thought she was cute. What a shame she didn't see that good point in herself.

_Although she acts like a boy, she has a really nice body. And she will be damn lovely if she wears makeup_, Chaos added. Again, Percy ignored him.

The General in a light-gray cloak came up. This one gave off the feeling of authority. She looked like a queen. She had got gorgeous long silver hair and pearly white skin. And her eyes…Her intense _gray_ eyes. They reminded him of someone he knew so well. It felt very, very different from that time, when he first saw those pretty eyes. He remembered lying on a bed in the Big House and being fed ambrosia by someone with the same eyes. He realized how much time has passed, and that he couldn't return to that peaceful period again. Here he was, sitting on a throne, acting like a king. He quickly averted his gaze away from those eyes and tried to regain his composure. He had promised himself a new life, so he shouldn't be recalling the irretrievable past now. If he did, he wouldn't be able to move on.

The girl knelt down, and then it struck Percy that she was reluctant to do so. She gave her oath, raised her chin, and snorted.

"Rosamund Vanderveer, General of the Ananke House. Nice to meet you, Chaos' General and monarch."

_No wonder she is Ananke's best Successor. That was mean_, Percy thought, sighing.

_Hell Yeah! Ananke always pisses me off! That girl and her patron Protogena are alike! Always turning their faces upwards, that conceited trait of theirs! Tch! I used to buy Ananke a Tiger balm neck, and she didn't even say a word of thanks! _Chaos complained. Percy stifled a smile.

_Well, but she may be a good person. She might turn out to be good if you know her better_, he suggested.

_Ha. If she really is kind, no one knows about it. She never lets her chin drop. Oh, I know what you meant. She is a rare beauty, and has very similar eyes to your ex, too. But she is a whole different story. She isn't anything like, um, Athena's offspring_. Percy noted Chaos' avoidance of the name.

The next one who stepped up was the black-eyed guy in a slategray cloak with a-little-messy gray hair. That hair style was what Percy would call bed hair. He knelt down and gave his oath, eyes sleepy.

"I'm Jaiden Walton, General of the Thesis House. Nice to meet you. Do you want to sleep?"

_What was that? Why did he ask if I wanted to sleep?_ Percy thought, confused.

_Well, if you ask me, I'd say that's the habit of all Thesis' Successors. You see, they are the only inventers who make amazing weapons and other useful things for you Successors. You've seen the Hephaestus cabin when you were in war, too. Weapons run short in the periods of wars. So they work their asses off to make enough weapons. Not only that, they invent some machines for the townspeople, as well. Furthermore, wars happen all the time in the universe. Successors must always work. Therefore, they just can't get enough sleep in one day_, Chaos explained.

_Whoa, they work as hard as slaves!_ Percy gasped. But, as people see it, even though Jaiden was unkempt, he was still good-looking.

The next General who came up to him was a dark-brown-haired girl in a chestnut-brown cloak with bright green eyes and olive skin. She did as the other Generals did. Then she gave Percy a sweet smile.

"Hello. I'm Megan Romero, General of the Nesoi House. Let's be good friends."

_Wow, she's very friendly_, Percy said in his mind. All right, he was beginning to get used to being talked to in his mind. And he didn't want to kick Chaos' ass anymore. In fact, it was better talking to someone privately in this situation. Everyone was staring at him, and he would be more nervous if he couldn't express this feeling to someone.

_Heh, don't be deceived by that sweet look, Perce. Do you remember what Rayner told you about the Nesoi?_ Chaos asked.

_He said they were good at detaining and torturing…_, Percy faltered, realizing something unpleasant. He gulped and tried to shake the thought off.

The next one was a tanned girl with dark-green hair and emerald-green eyes in a green cloak. She appeared patient and kind. She said in a sweet voice, "I'm Wilhelmina Taylor, General of the Phusis House. Do you want some of my plants in your room?"

_No, thanks_, Percy answered in his mind, wary.

_You are wiser and luckier than me. When I was still young, I didn't really know Phusis that much. So, on my birthday, she gave me hydrangea and told me to put it in my room for good friendship. Later, she came to visit me with this exact same smile that General girl just gave you, and said, I've got all your secrets; You talked about Ananke behind her back, and I know all of your sizes from head to toe, not to mention….Yeah, she intentionally left it at that and kindly asked me to do her a big favor_, Chaos grumbled. Percy smiled a little, not knowing that the next General thought he gave that smile to her.

"I'm, um, Dorothy Escott, General of the Pontus House. Nice to meet you, Percy," she said after giving her oath. Dorothy had creamy white skin, deep-blue hair, and black eyes, and she wore a deep-blue cloak. He didn't know why she was blushing, though.

_Pfft. You really are no good with girls, Perce. You're way too innocent_, Chaos said, chuckling.

_Shut it, Chaos. Maybe she wasn't blushing. She might have felt hot in here, because normally she lives in the ocean, right? Yeah, that makes sense._

_Oh, I doubt it. _

The next General was a white girl with baby-blue hair and bright-blue eyes in a light-blue cloak. She looked cute, with a childlike attitude and a cheerful smile. She said, "Hello, Percy. I'm Cynthia Lambert, General of the Hydros House."

After Cynthia, the next one stepped up. He was a tanned guy with shining red hair and brown eyes in a gray cloak. He looked kind of gloomy, though. Percy felt it again, the nostalgia. Maybe because this General's dark attitude resembled that of Nico Di Angelo's.

"I'm Javan Patrick, General of the Tartarus House. Hmm…What's your name, again?"

"…You can call me Percy," Percy answered. Strangely, Javan was the first General he spoke to, since he wasn't supposed to give any reply unnecessarily. He thought this guy was a bit of an airhead.

_Darn right. Sometimes Tartarus forgets where he places his trap, and he falls into the hole. Actually, they have a really bad memory_, said Chaos.

The next one was a really bulk guy. He had big muscles all over his body, like a wrestler. The guy was deeply tanned, and he had short-cropped orange hair and deep-brown eyes. He wore a copper-brown cloak.

"Hi, I'm Pedro Thompson, General of the Ourea House. Whenever you're bullied, just call me."

Percy nodded, smiling slightly. He would appreciate that if there was really someone who could bully him. But clearly, there wasn't.

Then, Rayner stepped up. He was smiling at Percy in a bantering way. He knelt and gave his oath, the whole time trying to suppress his laugh. Percy saw that and let out a little smile. See, they both knew how he felt right now. And that was, in a friendly way, something Rayner would laugh about. Not to mention Lucilius, he would laugh in Percy's face if he could.

"Heyyy, I'm Rayner Dallamoor, General of the Phanes House. Nice meeting you, Perce."

_Whee, youth is always good. I used to play around with Aether and Phanes a lot, too. Our popular game was 'Shame Ananke'_, Chaos said, thinking of his youthful past.

_You really dislike her_, Percy observed.

_Duh!_

The next General came up. She was a white-haired girl with black eyes and pale skin. She wore a dark-gray cloak, and the same emotionless mask as Vivian always did. However, she seemed like she was only around thirteen or fourteen.

"I'm Theodora Hainsworth, General of the Chronus House."

_Wow, Vivian number 2_, Percy thought.

_No, no. Chronus is much better than Erebus at expressing feelings. Trust me. I'm very close to Erebus. We always contact each other once a month, and he always keeps his mouth shut and only listens to me talking to him quietly._

_That's because you talk too much._

_No way. I'm a decent man, you know?_

Percy snorted. The next General was a white guy in a blue cloak who had sky-blue hair. His eyes were electric blue, which reminded him of Thalia.

"I'm Francis Owen, General of the Ouranos House."

Next was Lucilius' turn. He stepped up, knelt down and gave his oath. All the time smiling widely and-as Percy knew it was a bad omen-slyly, like he was planning something interesting. Dangerously interesting. Surely, this guy was up to no good. Percy loathed that Stoll-brothers-like smile.

"I'm Lucilius Melor, General of the Aether House. Man, you surprised me countless times today, Perce."

_Hey, C-man, what's he up to?_ Percy asked, anxious.

_As much as I know Aether, he's going to prank you._

_Don't you think I know that? I meant, what prank?_

_How would I know? Sure, I pull many, many pranks with Aether. But he always has more of them up his sleeve,_ Chaos replied, nonchalant.

_Ugh. Better brace myself._

_Well, have fun being pranked_, Chaos said, snickering.

And then, the last General, the girl in a black cloak who had got startlingly beautiful midnight-blue eyes-which seemed to always suck people in-and long silky black hair, and a-little-pale skin stepped up. No matter how many times he looked, she never changed the look on her face.

Right, Vivian was always unemotional like that.

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Long time no see, everyone. I updated after three weeks, yay. In fact, I was going to update this chapter after a month due to my 10th grade entrance test. I have to study hard, you know. But, well, some of you rushed me, saying you were dying, so, yeah. It's not going to be long before I take the test on 6/5/12 and come home to write the next chapter. The test results are gonna be announced on 9/5/12. Hell, I'm reaching my lazy limit now. Just reminding myself not to dawdle reading mangas is hard enough. *sigh* Anyway, Like it? Hate it? Please R&R! I'm looking forward to your reviews. It really inspires me and helps me improve my writing. Wish me luck, guys.


	9. This Cat Is Nuts

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter8: **This Cat Is Nuts

* * *

><p><strong>8<strong>

**This Cat Is Nuts  
><strong>

"Is it okay for you to be here, Mr. mysterious?" Percy said, sitting on his bed and crossing his arms.

"Aw, Percy. Why can't I be in my Successor's room? Hey, hey, don't glare at me like that. Isn't it good, being my only Successor?" Chaos replied, sitting on the nearby armchair.

"You should know, Chaos, that no one is pleased getting left alone on the way and suddenly getting crowned in only one day, you imbecile," Nevada said, jumping onto Chaos' head and ruining his hair.

"Ow! Hey, Nevada, you've gained weight. And you're messing my hair. Get off, you fatass!"

"Screw that, you jerk! Why, if I'm not a big-breast babe, you won't let me do this?"

"I didn't know you two knew each other," Percy said, blinking.

"Of course, she was my first pet," Chaos stated before getting pawed on the face. "Ouch!"

"No way in hell I was his pet. I was just the first living thing he created, that's all."

"For real? Wow, that's just, well, unexpected."

"Anyway," Chaos said, trying to pull Nevada away from his head, "I suppose you'd like to know the details about your first mission, Perce?"

"First mission? Already? I just got here today, you know," Percy complained.

"The Army's missions are always too many for the few Successors to handle, so they never have holidays. As their leader, should you just sit still and watch them work their asses off?"

Percy sighed. "Alright. What's this mission about?"

"Preventing a war. Ah! Dammit, give back my hair, you ugly cat!" Chaos cursed after Nevada had managed to pluck some of his hair out.

"War…" Percy's face darkened as the word escaped his mouth. The other two must have noticed this, because they stopped fighting and became serious.

"This is new for you, so try to understand it, okay? As you know, there are countless planets which were founded by humans. You'll gradually remember some of them as you go on missions. But now, we talk about these two planets: the Xerxes and the Charon."

"I don't think I like the name 'Charon'. Brings back bad memories," Percy muttered.

"These two planets have been rivals for as far as their residents can remember. Luckily, they never warred each other. But just around four days ago, the princess of the Charon planet disappeared. Her nanny, who was with her, says she went to sleep after she had locked the princess' room. Then, some border soldiers reported to the king that they had seen the Xerxes people who had arrived three days before the incident return to their planet secretly. The king got very furious and accused the Xerxes. Xerxes' king went mad about it. He refused having any of his people involved in the matter. So now the two planets are in a Cold War, waiting for the other's apology. That's where Protogenoi Army steps in. The cause of this about-to-break-out war is the disappearance of the princess. If we can find and return her back to the Charon, things will surely be better," Chaos explained.

"But won't the Charon still want to find the culprit after the princess is back?" Percy asked.

"You can worry about that after you have found the princess. If she was really kidnapped by the Xerxes, tell her to lie to her father. Maybe an excuse that she just wanted to see the Xerxes planet or something. If not so, war is inevitable. But I doubt the Xerxes would actually have done that. They are fully aware of what would happen from doing so."

"So my mission is to retrieve the lost princess before war breaks out?"

"Yep. Usually, Successors go on missions in twos or threes. Aether and I decided it wouldn't take many people to find a single girl, so you'll go in two."

"Who's the other one?"

"Lucilius."

"Is it really okay? I mean, I'm happy to go with someone I know, but is this mission really that important as to require two Generals?" Percy asked, scratching his head.

"It is. You don't know how powerful those two planets are. They've made strong connections with many, many planets over the centuries in order to threaten one another. It's like they're competing over how many connections they can make. If there really is war, other powerful planets will surely be involved. Besides, preventing a war is more important than stopping a war, you know? If you can prevent it, no one will die. But even if you can stop it after it has happened, surely many will have died. You should know-you experienced it yourself-that whenever there is war, there are deaths," Chaos said, looking at Percy.

"Of course I know," Percy mumbled. He remembered his deceased friends' faces: Beckendorf, Silena, Michael Yew, Luke, Ethan, Castor, and many more. How could he forget? It had burned onto his mind, the sorrow of a war.

"Look at the bright side, Percy," Chaos said warmly, as if he was trying to cheer him up. "There's this saying; those who cannot understand true pain of war cannot understand true peace."

"That's from Naruto," Percy interrupted.

"Oh…Ahahaha. So you knew," Chaos laughed, seeming embarrassed. "Well, but it's true, isn't it? As long as there is peace to appreciate, ones who have experienced war will never let it disappear."

"Do you mean that…all the Successors have all been to war?" Percy asked.

"Yes. You see, those who never experience war don't share the despair those who have do. If we want to find the ones who will certainly put their all into this kind of work that consists of war, we have to make sure they know how horrible and terrifying war truly is. And of course, they must be skilled. The last thing is, they must know war from a young age. Children remember things better than adults. The pain of war is engraved on their minds, making them remember it for the rest of their lives, teaching them to fear war and avoid it at all costs."

"That's how the Protogenoi choose their Successors?"

"Exactly."

"That's kind of…I don't know how to put it. Cruel?"

"You may think so. But you know what, Percy. People don't become true friends because they share happiness: that kind of friendship never lasts long. People _truly_ become friends because they share the same pain. We just wanted to make sure there would be no betrayals in this Army, where we are all family."

Percy went quiet for a long moment. _Family, huh?_ He thought. _How long has it been since I last heard this word?_

"What's with this heavy atmosphere? You made Percy sad. Chaos, you idiot!" Nevada got up from one of the sofas and growled at Chaos.

"But you were just quiet and listened. You didn't help me tell him at all!"

"Tch! Hey, Percy, are you alright?" Nevada turned to Percy, who gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, sort of. Don't worry. Anyways, when will the mission begin?"

"The day after tomorrow. That means we still have one day to train you," she answered.

"Train?"

"Yup. We're going to the Death section tomorrow, so rest up," Nevada said, jumped to her bed, and closed her eyes, cutting him off without explaining anything. Chaos smiled at Percy.

"You'd better be prepared, Percy. That fat cat is merciless when it comes down to training. By the way, that car I drove you here is still at the same car park. You'll have to use it tomorrow….I got to go. That hag Hemera is screaming at my statue now. Well, good night, Perce." After he finished his sentence, Chaos disappeared. Percy sighed and went to the bathroom, all the way muttering, "I don't want to step into that gloomy place full of monsters again."

* * *

><p>The next morning Percy woke up early despite his wanting to lie on the bed all day. The reason? Nevada had jumped onto his stomach. He took a bath and got dressed. Then, they walked to the parking lot on the roofs. Nevada told him that they didn't want to cause the ruckus. Successors were always popular, not to mention Chaos'. They got to the car and Percy drove off toward the Gate.<p>

"Did you forget something, Nevada?"

"What?"

"You forgot to tell me why we're training today and why does it have to be the Death section," Percy replied, glancing at the cat.

"You can't quite grasp the basics of using Chaos' power yet. You still can't use his power in combat. And if we want to find a place to train, there's nowhere better than Death section, you know."

Percy nodded. After a while they exited the city through the Gate. They were now surrounded by gray land. Nevada told him the directions; go near the cliff. Percy didn't know there was a cliff in this area, though.

"Whoa, it's really a cliff!" Percy exclaimed, looking at the nothingness below as he drove along the cliff.

"Park the car here," Nevada commanded. Percy did as he was told. When he was finished, he followed her white figure to the gray clearing where big rocks encircled. It was foggy when he neared it. Then, as he slipped through the rocks' gap, his eyes widened.

"A lake?" Percy asked, bewildered.

"What else could it be?"

In front of them was a lake. It wasn't much big, though. Its color was dull gray, just like the ground. There was no doubt he didn't notice it while driving here. The whole place was completely hidden by those big rocks. Percy looked around and noticed something. Far off, he could make out some big figures taking a sip of the water: monsters.

His expression becoming alarmed, Percy took a step back. "Those are monsters, aren't they?"

"Yes. But they are the peaceful type. Don't worry. They won't attack us unless you scare them."

He sighed, then asked, "Then what are we doing here?"

Nevada didn't answer. Instead, she changed the subject. "Do you know one of Chaos' powers is gravity?"

"Wha-? Really?"

"Yeah," she replied as she held a pebble in her mouth and tossed it at him. "And I'll have you use it to lift that pebble."

"You're talking about making it float."

"Uh-huh."

"_Freaking_ making it float," Percy repeated, staring at her. He waited for her to say something like, 'Boo! I was just jooooking! Did you fall for it? Mwahahahaha!'. But she didn't. He sighed, again, then said, "Oookay. I'll try."

He tried to draw out Chaos' power from his stomach and transfer it into the object, like last time. But no matter how much power he sent to it, the pebble didn't lift. Instead, it shattered.

Percy shrugged. "See? It didn't work. And I still can't imagine how it could work. Now, will you let me go back to my bed? There's a little time left before work starts, you know."

"Percy…," Nevada called, then continued, "If you move one step away from me, I'll have those peaceful _friends_ come eat-I mean, _greet_ you."

_Oh, crap…_, Percy thought as he gulped. Nevada didn't seem like she was joking at all. With a sheepish smile, Percy said, "As…as you wish, my lady. I'm going to try my best."

He picked up another pebble. Before he began, Nevada interrupted, "Just imagine a hand. Like when you morph the water into hand shape when you use Poseidon's power. I'm trying to teach you to use the air like your own body parts. Just make an invisible hand to lift it."

"Ah, got it. You should've told me that from the start."

Percy drew his power out and pictured a hand in his mind. When he sensed the air on his palm churn, he imagined raising that hand up. He opened his eyes, and there it was. The pebble floating in the air, three inches above his hand.

"Yeah, that's it. Way to go, Percy," Nevada cheered.

"It's-It's floating in the air. Oh, gods! In the _air_," Percy mumbled, astonished.

"You don't have to be so surprised. If you try harder and harder, you can lift heavier things-even as heavy as _you_."

"Oh, that's great," Percy said. He paused as the realization hit him. "Wait! I can lift myself?"

"In other words, it means you can fly."

"Whoa, man…I never thought meeting Chaos was lucky. Even as he put that lucky charm on the car window and Senior Shish Kebab came looking for us. But now I get it."

"Well, Chaos may be a jackass who always goofs around, but he has amazing powers. Now, let's try lifting heavier things. First with this," Nevada said before jumping into the lake. Percy blinked, surprised.

After a while, Nevada jumped up back to where she was crouching before, a purple fish in her mouth. She tossed it at Percy, who stared at it intensely.

"Um, this fish is purple."

"And what's wrong with that? Just concentrate and make it float," she demanded, flicking her body.

"Yeah. Right. There's nothing wrong with it. Silly me."

Percy tried lifting several things after that. After the fish (which Nevada snatched it back and _chomp_ it immediately after he was done), he lifted bigger rocks, Nevada, big tree branches. But finally, when she told him to lift himself, he just couldn't.

"I'm still too heavy. The best I can do is at about fifty pounds. I can't lift things heavier than that," Percy said, panting. They had been trying for almost an hour. But still, it didn't work. "Maybe I'm too tired."

"Very well," Nevada said, "Let's take a break. Follow me."

Percy's eyes lit up as he walked behind her. She led him to where the Ferrari was parked. She stood at the edge of the cliff, then turned to him and said, "You know when do people open all their five senses?"

"Nope. When?" Percy asked as he came up beside her.

"It's when their lives are at stake."

Then, Nevada jumped onto him, causing them both to fall into the darkness below.

**To be continued.**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes: <strong>Hey, guys. Here's the good news: I got accepted into the school I enrolled for! Hoorayyyy! Do you know? I wasn't hoping much, because it's the most famous high school in my country. But my study paid off and I became one of the elite! I wanted to _scream_. XD It felt wonderful when I got the results. But my happiness came crashing down when my best friend, whom I've known since grade one but got close three years ago, wasn't accepted. Now I find it dull, having to go to this oh-so-famous-and-full-of-elite school. Well, this is life. As the demigods say: the Fates are cruel. Oh, I was just ranting, sorry. Anyways, Like it? Hate it? Please R&R! Next chapter will be coming up soon enough if you rush me, I'll say. In fact, I just rushed it today because _**shadespace**_ told me to update. Haha. :D


	10. The First Mission

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter9: **The First Mission

* * *

><p><strong>9<strong>

**The First Mission  
><strong>

"Wha-What the hell was that for, Nevada?" Percy shouted at the fluffy white cat on his chest as they were falling. The sound of wind blowing was sharp in his ears.

"Quit the talking, unless you want to die. Just show me all you've got!"

"You didn't have to tell me that, really!"

Percy pursed his lips. He didn't want to admit it, but falling off a cliff actually felt great. That statement didn't include death, though. He had to move fast. On earth, he usually heard that white Persian cats were popular and expensive. If he let her die here, it would be such a loss….Wait, why was he worrying for a cat rather than himself?

"All right. Here goes nothing," Percy breathed. He closed his eyes and wandered deep within himself. At the center of his body, his stomach, resided such tremendous power. But it was sealed by many layers of doors. By opening the outer doors, he was able to use some of that power, even just a little.

But, now that he needed more than that, he had to destroy more doors. How could he do that? Maybe it required great amount of concentration. He must ease his mind, clearing it of all worries and fears, or any other feelings. Then, he would use that concentrated power of mind to strike at the doors concealing Chaos' power.

Percy wanted to ask Nevada if his recently-developed theory was right, but there was no time to waste. At least, if he really was going to die, he wanted his corpse to be in good condition, not Percy stew or demigod chop. He tried to forget that he was falling, that everything was gone, except himself. That was the way Nevada told him about his meditation yesterday.

Percy felt the flow of Chaos' power leaking out from its center as he slowly approached it. He withdrew from it, and then struck at it at full power.

"Ugh!" Percy clutched his stomach. The sudden burst of power made him feel like he just had his organs destroyed. It was so painful that he nearly fainted. He jerked, raising his head.

"Oi…You alright, Perce?" Nevada asked worriedly. She saw his eyes and went quiet. Black flames were dancing in Percy's eyes. White lights were appearing in them from time to time, like comets in the black sky.

Percy put up his hand and said in a quiet voice, "Hold."

The air beneath them churned and cradled them gently. He then raised his hand and they were lifted up mildly.

"You did it, Percy. Yay," the cat on his chest smiled at him.

Percy didn't reply. In fact, he didn't hear her voice. The roaring in his ears was banging at his consciousness, trying to disturb his concentration. On the other hand, his eyesight was really something now. He could see every little detail of anything, even from very far away.

After a fair amount of time, they landed softly on the ground. Percy let his concentration slip away, closing the doors. The banging sound stopped, his eyesight also went back to normal. He blinked, confused.

"You don't look so well. Is the after effect causing you uneasiness?" The cat asked, sitting on his lap.

"Well, I guess I brought out too much power. My body could hardly endure the pain. And…I'm still a bit angry at you, you know," Percy said, glaring at Nevada.

"Oops. Sowwy, I didn't wanna do dat, ya know!"

"Talk properly. Geez. Whatever. I'm exhausted. I want to go back and lie down on bed all day."

"Well, you have time to rest until Vivian comes, at least."

"What! Why is she-"

"Don't you remember? She's also your advisor. You must know that from now on, you're going to be instructed by the two of us on every single day. Not to worry, though. Hers is paperwork. You can relax while sitting in a soft armchair."

"Oh, heck. If it's that always-so-serious Vivian, I don't think I'll be able to relax at all." Percy sighed.

"You can still drive, right?"

"I guess. If I couldn't, how could we go back anyway?" Percy knit his eyebrows. He saw her grin just now. Was it his imagination? (Of course, when you can talk to a cat, you can tell when it's smiling or pouting, as well.)

When they arrived at Chaos' House, Vivian was already waiting for Percy in his room. She was sipping tea on a sofa.

"You're late. Where have you been?" She asked.

"Um, the Death section. I was out training." Percy replied as the cat jumped onto her little bed and fell asleep peacefully. Alright, now he was jealous of a cat.

Vivian went quiet. She looked at him intently. Then, the girl disappeared from where she was sitting, and reappeared again right in front of Percy. Like last time, they were close.

"Erm…Vivian? I'm sorry I was late," Percy said. He wanted to back away, but her midnight-blue eyes seemed to stop all his efforts. There it was again, the gravitation in those eyes.

"Are you alright? You look kind of feverish," she stated, touching his forehead.

"…I'm well, really. Thanks."

Vivian stepped back and said, "Very well. It's time to start your work. I'll help you until you're accustomed to it. I brought the documents to your office just a while ago. Follow me."

Percy followed her into his office next to his bedroom. Yesterday, if he remembered correctly, there had been nothing on the table. But now, there was a mountain of paper and files.

"This is all your work for today. As you're new to this, I only brought half of it here. Don't worry. I've done the rest of it. So you won't be overworked."

Percy stuttered, "_That_'s just half of it? A-And you've done the rest by yourself? Oh, gods. I can't believe it. It's too much for me to handle…"

"You'll be fine. All the Generals are like this on their first day of work. But I have to admit yours is a little tough. It's like this because some documents require the monarch's approval. So even if one of the General has already signed it, you'll still have to read it and sign, too."

"You mean, the other sixteen Generals, including you, send some of their signed documents to me each day, and I still have my own paperwork to do, as well?"

"Exactly."

"Great. Really, I'm getting all fired up. Just look at me. I'm ready, yay." Percy said weakly. Then, his tone changed, "Wait! I'm a demigod. I'm dyslexic, I can't read very well. I guess that can hinder the work, so…"

"That doesn't matter. Here," Vivian said, holding something in her hand. It was glasses, the normal ones.

"Hey, you can't heal dyslexia by wearing glasses."

"They're specially made for demigods by the Thesis Successors. Put them on."

Percy did as told. Surprisingly, when he looked at the paper Vivian gave him, the alphabets didn't seem to be moving like before. He could read the text easily. That was nice, but it came in a package with a pile of paper, and _that_, was bad.

"Yeah, I can read normally now."

"Well, then, let's get to business. I'll tell you all the details about the city first. There, look at the map on the wall. That is the geography of the city of Protogenoi. Whether it will rise or fall depends on you."

"No pressure, of course."

"No. A good monarch has to know every little thing about his land. It will take much time for you to understand all of this, but at least, you have to get it as much as to be able to finish today's work. You have a mission tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"Try to have a good rest after we're finished, then. Tomorrow is Thursday. You have to complete your mission before Sunday."

"Why? I know I have to hurry if we want to prevent the war, but that is too difficult, don't you think?" Percy scratched his head.

"Indeed it is. However, first impression is important, as well. Remember, you have to hear petitions from the townspeople on Sunday."

"Oh, right. I totally forgot about it. Man, I'm one busy guy," Percy sighed.

"That aside, let's begin," Vivian said, gesturing for Percy to take a seat.

"Hooray. Studying sure is fun," Percy muttered weakly.

* * *

><p>"Percy. Percy. Hey, if you're not going to wake up, I'll jump at you," Nevada said, crouching beside Percy, who was sleeping soundly. His eyes opening slowly, he groaned.<p>

"Please, Nevada. I just got to sleep, like, two hours ago?"

"Can't be helped, poor guy. If you had put more efforts into your lesson with Vivian, you would have finished your work around two a.m., not four."

"Give me one more hour. It's just…six, now. I have plenty of time before Lucilius comes…"

Nevada looked at the glass doors to the balcony and said with a small smile, "Seems like Lucilius isn't going to come. Get up, Perce. Your partner in this mission has come."

"What?" Percy furrowed his eyebrows. He sat up and looked in the same direction she was looking at.

He gaped. "Vi-Vivian!"

The girl was standing on the balcony, in front of the glass doors. When she saw Percy noticing her, she slid it open and stepped in. She still looked neat as usual, and gorgeous. The wind outside was blowing her silky black hair. It was surprising, though. How could she, who stayed up until four like him, still looked so pretty despite having so little rest? She didn't look sleepy, either.

"You're still in bed? Get up now, Percy. We have three days for the mission, that's really short."

"Wait. We? Um, isn't it Lucilius who's going on this mission?"

"He didn't tell you? He asked me to switch places with him yesterday. He's staying here."

"What? Oh…That means I'll go on this mission with you, only you and me."

"Uh-huh. You can ask me later. Now go take a bath and prepare yourself. I'll give you ten minutes. If after ten minutes have passed, and you still aren't done yet, I'll help you myself."

"Eh? T-Ten minutes?"

"You're not going? Do you want me to help you bathe?" Vivian raised an eyebrow, taking a step. Percy hurriedly got up and ran to the bathroom, trying not to glance at Nevada, who was smirking at him from her bed.

Percy managed himself fast, because Vivian kept telling him the time from the other side of the door. When she started to count down from ten to one, he came out. Percy panted, drops of water falling from his hair.

"…Your clothes are indecent, but we can do something about it later. Just put on your cloak. We're going," Vivian said, checking his appearance. She then walked to the balcony.

"Wait. Can't we get out normally, like, walking through the door? Now that I think about it, you always enter my room from the balcony. Do you have something against doors?"

"It's faster this way. The car is parked just behind your House. When you're a Successor, doors aren't that necessary. We often walk on roofs, so the townspeople don't notice us. It'll become your habit after living here for a while. Hurry," Vivian said, jumping off the baluster.

"Good luck on your first mission, Perce," Nevada said to him from her bed, her tail wriggling as if to wave at him.

"Well, I don't know if this was intended or not, but I'll go get Lucilius later."

"Knowing him, it was certainly planned," she stated, then continued without stopping, "Just don't forget to use Chaos' power. Don't use Olympian power, okay?"

"Alright." Percy then left. He jumped down from the balcony.

His eyes widened when he realized it was higher than he had expected. He considered using Chaos' power to control gravity under his body, but he canceled the idea: Better having a broken arm or leg than going through that pain from the blast of power inside of his body again.

Percy was surprised, as he landed very softly, and with no sound. Like Lucilius and Rayner. So this quiet movement thing was the Successors' specialty, after all.

The blue sea before him was beautiful. He wanted to sit down and look at it for hours, like he had usually done on Earth. But the sight of Vivian leaning on a sports car like Chaos' warned him of his duty. The sand underneath his feet was so soft and clean, though. It was great that his room was at the furthest left side of the House, which was faced by the sea.

"…Do you want to drive?" The Erebus' General asked, holding up the car key.

"Well, if it's driving on the road, I'd love to. But I can't drive in the air, much less from planet to planet."

"It's not hard. Get on. I'll teach you," Vivian said, gesturing for him to take the driver's seat.

"Just pray we don't get any merry accidents before we actually begin the mission," Percy muttered.

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Greetings, guys. Sorry, I was late again. To the guys who rushed me: This was the best I could do, I hurried the chapter after you PMed and/or reviewed about my delay. Life at new school is tough, it's pressing on me. It's depressing, but I'll have less time to write the story. *sigh* How troublesome my high school life is. It was a mistake, enrolling into this elite and famous school, after all. Everything you do is competition between students, it's annoying. Well, I'll try to update faster. But you see, Updating fast means the chapter being short. Can't be helped. Anyway, lilke it? Hate it? Please R&R! And thanks to the guys who paid attention and rushed me, too. You're very lovely. :D Bye, guys.


	11. Why Don't You Sleep Together?

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter10: **Why Don't You Sleep Together?

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

**Why Don't You Sleep Together?  
><strong>

"Now that we have time, can I ask you something?"

"There was a commotion in the Aether House, which in my opinion, was caused by the Phusis Successors. Lucilius decided to stay so he could stop it and make some plans to counter them," Vivian answered, knowing what Percy wanted to ask about.

"Why? The Phusis and the Aether aren't in good terms? If it were Ananke vs Aether, I wouldn't doubt a thing," Percy asked without looking at her. Of course he couldn't do that: he was driving, and at the speed he was sure the police would send him to jail for ten years if they were on Earth.

"They weren't like this before. But after Lucilius became General of the Aether House, they have been like this. In fact, the conflict is only between the two Generals. The other Successors only joined in because of respect for their Generals."

"So, Lucilius and Wilhelmina don't like each other?"

"It seems so. But I think they don't really dislike each other. It's just that they keep pranking one another because they want to win. Childish acts," Vivian stated, her face straight.

_It's because you're too mature and serious_, Percy thought.

He smiled a little when he thought about Lucilius and Wilhelmina. They resembled some of his friends from Camp Half-Blood. He still remembered it: the red face of the angry naturist girl as she chased after the mischievous boy.

"And where are we going?" He asked.

"The Xerxes planet. If we don't find any traces of the princess there, we'll start searching from nearby planets."

"Yeah. Vivian, your power is darkness, right?" Percy changed the subject. He tried to conceal his curiosity while asking.

"Yes."

"How do you use it?"

"I can control it like you can control the sea. For example, I can use a shadow to pick things up by changing its form. It's like a part of my body. I will it to do what I want."

"Don't you hate sunlight? I heard the Nyx Successors don't like it."

"I don't. I can stand under the sunshine just fine. But I prefer darkness. And what about you? Have you tried using your power yet?"

Percy sighed. "I have."

"What is Chaos' power?"

"I don't know all of them. Neva-I mean, my advisor, said there are so many. I only know one of them. It's gravity," Percy replied. He didn't mention Nevada's name, because if Vivian asked who she was, how was he to answer?

'Oh, Nevada is a cat, and she's my advisor. Do you understand? A cat teaches me good things and I talk to her everyday.'

Her eyes widened a little. Then, Vivian nodded and said, "As expected of Chaos. I assume, a power as great as gravity is quite painful to use, isn't it?"

Percy was surprised, but he was glad to know that she might be able to help him. He said, "Exactly. I feel as if my body is about to break apart or explode when I use it too much. I think I'll have to find the extent of Chaos' power which I can draw out without vaporizing my body."

"I agree. Other Protogenoi's powers aren't that immense, though. As for Erebus', it only causes me pain when I use it at its extent, or when I force it out when there's no darkness."

"Are your Successors like this, too?"

"No. They can't use the power until it hurts them because there's a restriction. The Protogenoi made sure they limited their powers in the Successors' bodies so that they don't cause them any damage. But once you become a General, the limitation is taken out. You can use all the power your patron Protogenos gave to you, if you aren't afraid your body will explode, that is. Up until now, there hasn't been any General who could use his/her power to the extent."

"The power is kept at your stomach, right?"

"Yes, but you're not totally right. The power itself is scattered all over your body, and its source is at your stomach. It's just like blood from a heart."

Percy nodded, digesting her words. After a while, they saw two big planets. One of them was blue, the one next to it was orange.

"Are those the Xerxes and the Charon planets?" He asked.

"Yes. The blue one is the Xerxes. Listen, when you land, don't suddenly step on the brake. You have to gradually decrease the speed until it lands, okay?"

"Roger."

Percy turned the car toward the blue planet. As they neared it, a black bubble appeared and covered the whole car, like last time. They descended through the atmosphere and the beautiful land of blue came up in their sight.

"Whoa, it's so blue," he muttered.

"Land on that valley over there," Vivian pointed at the blue valley below. Percy did as he was told. After the car was parked, he got out and looked at the rare sight in front of him.

The whole planet was almost completely blue, except for its ground. Not so far off, there was a lovely small village near a river. Apart from that, the whole place was full of blue fields, blue mountains, and blue rivers. The blue buildings were small, like some cottages. The style was like that in fantasy movies. The wind blew, sending a ripple over the field. Percy breathed in the fresh air: he liked the feeling of it.

"Blue heaven," he muttered.

"Countryside is always good like this," Vivian agreed, walking up to him.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean this is far from the capital?"

"Uh-huh. Even though this planet is big, there are only a few residential areas. It's quite similar to our planet: only one city. There are small villages in rural areas, though. Some peaceful people can't bear the turbulence of the capital, so they move to this kind of quiet place instead."

"Do you think the princess is in the capital?"

"I'm not sure. There are two possibilities. The princess wouldn't want to go to such a crowded place as the capital, because she could be found. But on the other hand, if the search team also thinks like this, they will look for her in the countryside, and it's even easier to be found. So she might take the risk and use the advantage of the capital's largeness and hide herself."

"And we have three days to find her. Just to make it worse, we don't even know if she's in this planet or not," Percy pointed out helpfully.

"Don't worry, we can do it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we will complete the mission no matter what. In order to prevent a war, we Successors will do anything required to do so. Furthermore, this is your first mission, Percy. I can't let you fail. Remember the oath I gave to you," Vivian said solemnly, looking at him in the eye. Percy looked back, but then turned away. Again, her eyes were pulling him into the depth he couldn't get out if he fell into.

He let out a small smile, his mind eased. At least, if Vivian was here, he was sure the workaholic would never let him go back empty-handed.

"Well…Now that I think about it, I have no information about the princess at all. I don't even know her name," Percy changed the subject. He felt something weird when those midnight-blue eyes looked at him intently like that.

"Princess Liselotte Lorna Camille di Charon."

"Excuse me?"

"Shortly, princess Liselotte."

"Oh, I see."

"She is the only offspring of the current king of Charon planet. She loves going out. She doesn't like her position, she just wants to be a normal girl. She dreams of having a little family in the countryside-"

"Where did you know this from? I think it's a really private matter," Percy interrupted, surprised.

Vivian was quiet for a while, then she replied, "The Phusis House is a great source of information."

"I don't think the princess tells a tulip her dreams."

"Anyway, this is her photograph. We'll split and find her in two directions," she said, changing the subject. The Erebus' General handed him a photograph of a blonde girl with electric blue eyes. She continued, "I'll go that way, you go this way."

Percy looked in the direction her finger was pointing at. It was the path to the village. The other direction, Vivian's path, was an endless blue field. She gave him a small device and an earpiece.

"This is the map. Just choose wherever you want to go and it will show the way. This earpiece is for contacting me if there's problem, or if you find the princess. We'll meet at the Xerxia hotel at sunset. Use it well, The Thesis Successors worked hard on this. They said they've made it really easy to use for demigods. And you can use the car."

"Eh? What? You, a girl, are letting me, a guy, use the car to travel?" Percy gaped at her.

"Yes, because you are my chief. Very well, let's get to work. We'll meet at sunset," she said before disappearing from his eyesight.

"That wasn't very manly of you, Percy," Percy said to himself tiredly. He sighed. He had thought he would let her use the car, the way a good guy would do, but she was faster. Always.

_Then, it means that Vivian's manlier than me, huh?_ He thought, smiling wryly.

"Well, at least I have to get the work done," Percy muttered, walking to the car.

* * *

><p>He drove to the village he had seen first. There were a few people here and there, doing their routines. He decided to ask a middle-aged woman who was sitting on a bench quietly and walked up to her.<p>

"Excuse me?"

She looked up at him and tilted her head, then asked, "You're a foreigner, right?"

"Yes. But how did you know?"

"Look at your clothes. Our planet is quite warm, so we don't wear robes or black," the woman said, smiling kindly.

"Oh, indeed." Percy smiled back, and asked, "Um, have you seen this girl before?"

She took the photo from his hand and looked at it. After looking at it for a while, she told him, "No, I've never seen this girl before. And I don't think this kind of rich girl would come to a countryside like this."

"Is that so…Well, thank you for your help, ma'am."

Percy left her and began asking other people. Even so, he still found no clue. He got on the car and drove to other villages. He felt like he had driven across half the planet, thanks to the car's incredible speed. He found six villages, but no one seemed to have seen the princess before. Before he realized it, the sun was already sinking. Percy smacked his head slightly when he knew he was going to be lectured by _her_ for sure.

He put on some speed, trying to make it on time. There was no problem with the directions: the map device was really useful. A moment passed, and the scenery around him started to change. Before, there were only blue fields without any people, but as he got closer to the capital, he began to see more people and more vehicles, all heading in the same direction.

Then, he saw a big blue gate. Through it, he could see tall buildings and skyscrapers inside. There weren't any houses. All the buildings were at least fifty storeys tall. You'd think Percy was seeing New York, but the style was a bit different. The buildings were designed strangely, because they were in various shapes: cone, tube, hourglass, etc. The architecture made him feel like he was really in the aliens' realm. What was normal was the people, although they wore weird clothes and drive strange-shaped cars.

_If Annabeth were here, she would faint_, he thought, and pushed the thought away as fast as he realized he was wasting time.

"Let's see…Xerxia hotel…" Percy typed the letters on the device, then the map changed. The hotel was in the middle of the capital. He groaned when he saw that there were so many cars that there was a traffic jam. He considered driving in the air and looked up at the sky. His lips quirked into a smile when he saw that there were a few cars flying past.

_Well, not that it makes things better. It's past sunset now. Vivian never uses rude words nor does anything impolite, but I'm sure she'll whip me with her words_, Percy thought, sighing as he pressed a button on the console. The car started to float and he drove at full speed.

After a while, Xerxia hotel appeared in his line of sight. It was one of the tallest buildings in the capital that he has seen so far. He looked around, finding a parking lot. When he found it, he parked the car and hurried to the entrance of the hotel.

The tube-shaped white and blue hotel gleamed under the dark sky. Its title, Xerxia hotel, was made of sapphires. As he entered the lobby, he couldn't help but marvel at its beauty. The orange light from a huge chandelier illuminated the whole room, making it dream-like. There was a two-storey-tall fountain in the center. Around it were sofas and tables made of glass, which were mostly occupied by the elegant-looking people. The check-in counter was placed in front of a wall which had so many doors.

"You're sixteen minutes and thirty-eight seconds late," a sweet voice sounded behind him. Without having to be told, Percy knew immediately who it was. He turned around, smiling sheepishly.

"Hey, Vivian."

There she was, crossing her arms. The girl didn't look angry or anything, she still had the same look: emotionless.

"A monarch should always be punctual. Next time, I hope you will be on time?"

"Yeah…I'm sorry," Percy apologized. "I won't _ever_ be late again."

She nodded, satisfied. Then she said, "Let's go check in. And we'll talk about the mission later."

They walked to the counter. The receptionist behind it asked, "May I help you?"

Percy raised an eyebrow, confused. True, the woman asked Vivian, who reached the counter first, but her eyes were on him. He gave her a little smile, saying hi, and averted his gaze. Was it his imagination, or her eyes seemed…suggestive in a certain way?

"Lucilius Melor. Here," Vivian said, giving a piece of paper to the receptionist. She took it and looked at a computer in front of her.

"Room 1206, 120th floor. Oh, how cute. A couple in the middle of a honeymoon…. Another hot guy got snatched away, huh?" She mumbled to herself after telling them the number of the room.

Percy and Vivian automatically knit their eyebrows. Something must have gone wrong about this. _Really_ wrong.

"Could you check it again? Aren't there two rooms for us?" The General girl asked.

"No, you really reserved one room. It's a deluxe sweet room on the top floor, one of the only ten most expensive rooms we have. Besides, aren't you to on a honeymoon? Why don't you sleep together?"

"Eh?" The two Generals blinked. Then, Percy, whose face was red, quickly corrected the receptionist. "No, no, no. We aren't a couple. We're just teammates. Right, Vivian?"

He looked at Vivian for a confirmation. The girl's reaction to this was the opposite of his. She seemed undisturbed, like it wasn't something important, unlike him, who was totally red. She said, "We aren't. Excuse us for a moment."

Then, Vivian pulled him close and whispered, "I'm not sure Lucilius really prepared the right accommodation for this mission. Maybe he forgot to change the reservation after he asked me to do this instead of him."

Percy felt a shiver down his spine. "Nah. Cross out the latter. Do you mean to say that he had reserved that sweet room for couples for me and him? Gross."

He said that. But inside his head, Percy was already thinking hard. Since the party, he had expected that Lucilius would pull a prank on him someday. He suspected that his having to stay in the same room as Vivian was that sly fox's intention.

Vivian turned to the receptionist, who was craning her head at them curiously, and asked, "Are there any rooms left?"

"No. The rooms are always full. If you want to stay in our hotel, you have to have reserved it at least three weeks earlier. It's always been like this, because this is the best hotel in the capital."

They were silent for a while.

_Holy Crap_.

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Long chapter after a long wait. Sorry, guys. I was busy. (Plus, I was lazy.) I hope this chapter makes up for it. Have you forgotten Protogenoi? Chaos? Vivian? Lucilius? Please don't delete this story from your favorites. I've got a lot more in store for you.

Anyone who reviews in this order gets a reward from me:

**105**

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Alright. Love it? Hate it? Please R&R! And we'll see who gets to have a limited edition. :P Buy, guys! I'll be on time next time.


	12. There Are Two Princesses?

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

****Chapter11: ****There Are Two Princesses?

* * *

><p><strong>Announcement:<strong>

There are two users who will receive a special chapter from me now.

105th review: **shadespace**

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There are two left **150****th**** review and 155****th**** review**, right?

But I added more. The owners of the following reviews will get this special chap, too!

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_**PS. The special chapter will come after this mission's completed. So please wait a little!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

**There Are Two Princesses?  
><strong>

"Um…"

"What are you doing, Percy? Come in here, quick."

Percy walked to the opened door, scratching his head. Vivian and the serviceman, who was carrying their belongings, were waiting inside. It was one of the doors behind the reception counter, which was said to be an elevator to the rooms with number six of every floor.

When they arrived at the room, the serviceman put their bags down. Vivian gave him some gems and he was gone. She picked their bags up and walked past Percy, who was standing very still. The girl put them on the counter in the corner of the room and turned to him. Percy stiffened.

"Let's have a talk," Vivian said, sitting on one of the bar stools in front of a drink bar.

He walked to the drink bar, sitting on the sixth bar stool from hers. That left a great distance between them.

Vivian looked at him, tilting her head. Then, the girl stood up, walked to him, and sat down on the bar stool next to his. Percy was about to stand up, but she pulled him down and pressed her hand on his shoulder: a sign that she wouldn't let him move even an inch.

"I'm going to report the results of my search, so listen up," she began, then continued, "Today I searched all the villages on the east of the planet. There was no sign of princess Liselotte. The villagers suggested that I search the capital instead, because they said they've never seen a girl dressed so elegantly in the countryside before. But still, there's a possibility that the princess might disguise herself as a poor commoner in order to hide. What do you think?"

Percy relaxed a little. When she had touched him, his body immediately straightened. Almost half the trepidation left him when he saw that Vivian didn't seem to mind their situation or even consider it a matter. It was only him who worried too much.

_What the heck? And here I was so nervous she might kill me if I came close to her. She's all casual like this. I'm the one who's acting like a girl that fears the boy would do something to her like in those Asian movies..._, Percy thought.

"Well, one of the villagers I met told me this, too. I didn't find any traces of the princess, either. So I think we should consider searching the capital tomorrow," Percy advised.

"Yeah. But the capital is big, and there are many more people. Searching together will be better. Agreed?"

"Uh-huh. Which parts should we start searching first?"

"Alleys, maybe? Or poor living areas? I don't think she's so brave that she dares walk on the streets with ease."

"What about her disguise? I think she may wear a robe, or sunglasses. She has to hide her face, after all."

"She likes pink. So if you find any girl who wears pink clothes rather than blue, no matter what she wears, it's ninety-nine percent certain that it's princess Liselotte. Perhaps, she may wear lemon-scented perfume, too," Vivian stated.

"Really, have you met her before? You seem to know her so much," Percy asked, creasing his eyebrows.

She went quiet, and then completely changed the subject. "I'm going to take a bath."

"Eh?" Percy blinked, but Vivian already went to the bathroom, which was next to the bedroom.

He scratched his head, walking into the bedroom. The room was big, but three times smaller than his room in Chaos' House. However, there was a clear sign that it was a sweet room. For example, all the lamps on the wall casting dim pink light, rose-scented aroma in the room, red sofas with heart-shaped pillows in the corners of the room, and a big red king-sized bed…

_Huh?_

A big red king-sized bed…

A king-sized bed.

A bed.

Only _one_ bed.

_Gosh_, Percy groaned in his head. _I'll have to sleep on the sofa, huh? After all that comfort from my own bed in Chaos' House…_.

"Percy. It's your turn," Vivian's voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Percy turned around to see her. She had already finished bathing (Her hair was wet) and was now in a white loose male-sized long-sleeved shirt. It was so big that it reached her thighs. He gulped and quickly turned his back, his face totally red. Maybe she didn't know…No, if she did know it, she wouldn't be standing before him like this, he was sure. But her shirt was white and its texture was so thin that the shirt was seethrough. Just to make it worse, she had to wear black brassiere. It was clear for his eyes to see. Very visible.

"Err…Um, Vivian, don't you have any sleep suits or pajamas?" Percy asked, not looking in her direction.

"No, I always sleep in this type of clothes. It's comfortable," she said, still not knowing what the problem was.

"W-Well…I'm going," Percy said, grabbing his clothes and towel before going into the bathroom, not looking at her even once.

It was the first time Percy had spent his time in a bathroom this long. In fact, he was actually meditating: Nevada had told him to do this everyday. The reason why he didn't do it outside? It was simple. If he saw Vivian in that outfit again, he wouldn't be able to concentrate for sure.

It's not like he had never been alone with an opposite sex before. There was that quest with Annabeth, when they had to sail through the sea of monsters in order to rescue Grover. But at that time, they were still, like, thirteen? And now he was about to become seventeen years old in a few months. Furthermore, Vivian was drop-dead gorgeous. Going on a mission with her had been hard enough for him at first, but it couldn't even be compared to this. Really, that Lucilius. He still wasn't sure that guy intended to do this, but they were sure to have to have a long talk after the mission ended.

Percy sighed. _It's late, she must be asleep now_, he thought, going out of the bathroom.

"You took so long."

Vivian was sitting with her legs crossed on one of the sofas, a file of documents in her hand. He froze and averted his gaze immediately when he saw her thin legs.

"…You're still up?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, some documents needed to be signed," she answered, closing the file. It seemed she had finished it. She stood up and looked at him.

_Do it now, Perce_, he urged himself. _I have to ask her to sleep on the bed now before she asks me instead._

"Hey, Vivian, I'll-"

"You sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the sofa, all right?"

Percy's jaw slightly dropped. She was faster, _again_. "Why?"

"How could I let my chief sleep uncomfortably? Go to bed now, you have to get up early tomorrow," Vivian said matter-of-factly.

"No. Oh, please, Vivian, let me sleep on the sofa. I really like sleeping on sofas, you know?" He begged, thinking 'Do I sound stupid much? How pathetic could I get when I'm around her?'

The General girl raised an eyebrow. She asked, "Really? That's kind of weird. I've never seen anyone prefer sofa to bed before."

_Yeah, me too_, he spoke in his head.

"I do. I really do. Believe me. Let me sleep on the sofa, okay? You can sleep on the bed."

"Well…In that case, I'll sleep on another sofa."

"Wha-! Why!" Percy gaped at her.

"I don't want to let you sleep on the sofa alone," Vivian said, nodding to herself and walking toward a sofa on the left corner of the room.

Percy hurried to her. He put his hands on her shoulders, (cautiously, without looking, like he was touching something hot) turned her around, and guided her toward the bed.

"Sleep here," he demanded, still not looking at her, his hands already went off from her shoulders.

"Well, if you insist. One more thing, though," she said. Then, to his utmost surprise, she stuck her head in the direction he was looking, and turned to meet his eyes, her face tilting. "Why don't you look at me when you're talking to me? Is there something wrong with my face?"

Her pretty face was just an inch away from his. Her midnight-blue eyes bored into his sea-green ones, which seemed to have white lights in them, directly. Her expression was indifferent, as always. Again, this pulling in her eyes. It's like they were absorbing him, little by little.

With his heart beating fast, Percy briskly walked to the sofa and lay down on it. He said, "Good night, Vivian."

Then he turned himself over. Vivian was confused. Her questions were left unanswered. Still, she had to wake him up tomorrow. So she'd better go to sleep now.

* * *

><p>Percy yawned. He felt like he could fall asleep here and now, walking to the car. Vivian must <em>be<em> inhuman. Definitely. They went to sleep at the same time, but at four a.m. she woke him up, with her face still perfect as always. There was no sign of sleepiness in her. Well, he looked pretty active, too, having opened his eyes to see her nice figure (Hey, that's truthfully said) first thing in the morning. In fact, Percy had automatically jumped up from the sofa and quickly walked past her to the bathroom.

_But seriously, how could she still walk around with that emotionless but very pretty face without bags under her eyes?_ Percy thought as they got into the car.

"Hey, Vivian, don't you feel, well, drowsy-even a little?" He asked.

"No. I'm used to it."

"Do you mean you sleep less than four hours everyday?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just like Nyx's Successors, we Erebus' Successors also stay up late."

"But you also get up earlier than anyone."

"No, that's just me. My housemates get up around noon," she said.

_See? She's really inhuman_, Percy thought. He started the car and drove toward the main road. They had agreed they would look for alleyways from the main road first. The capital was kind of crowded with people, so most of the alleys were suitable for someone in hiding. Few of them were counted as possible for being habited by the princess, but they still found no clue.

"That was the sixteenth alley: still no sign of her. Can we go and grab something to eat first? It's already getting dark, and we haven't had breakfast or lunch either. I feel like I'm going to starve to death," Percy said, looking rather wistful.

"Yeah. Let's eat at that restaurant over there," Vivian said, pointing to a tall building in the corner.

"Are you sure? It's a restaurant mixed with a pub."

"That's the reason I chose it. You can get more information when you talk to the bartender of any pubs. Even talking to the drunkards give you rare information you've never known before. More importantly, the princess is kind of a heavy drinker."

"Oh, so that's the point. The more you tell me about her, the more princess Liselotte's image is destroyed, you know?" Percy stated as he drove to the parking lot.

"Did you think she was the kind to sit still and tend to a flower garden or sing with birds like those Disney princesses?" She asked as they got out of the car.

Percy's eyes widened. "Whoa, you watch them? I never knew Disney is popular with aliens."

"No, I don't. It's Aether. He introduced Disney to his Sucessors. They got crazy about it and spread the fever to the other House's Successors."

"Well, that's kind of, um, lively of Aether? I don't really know what to say. I now know why Chaos and Aether can get along so well, though," Percy muttered as he pushed the door of the restaurant open.

The restaurant was divided into two parts. One was like any luxurious dining places, the other was a full-opted pub. A waiter came up and guided them to one of the tables. They ordered some food and after the man left, Vivian spoke up.

"Percy, help me look for 'her'. She might be here at this time, drinking and gossiping with the bartender."

"Alright."

Percy scanned the opposite side. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone suspicious. The food they had ordered came, and they quickly ate. Later, when they were done, the General girl told him to come with her to the bar.

They sat on bar stools, and Vivian called the bartender. Percy ordered some drinks. As the bartender made them, he showed him the photo.

"Have you ever seen this girl before?"

The man took one glance at it and immediately recognized her. He said, "Yes, yes. This girl is a VIP customer of ours. She comes to drink every night, around ten. She also wins a lot of games in the casino nearby. I've seen her play poker with one dealer, she's just amazing at it. She's a genius at gambling. She always lets me see her earnings after she's left the casino and come here."

Percy and Vivian automatically looked at each other. His eyes were sparkling with excitement, the white lights in them seemed to dance, like a meteor shower. Vivian's expression was still the same: blank. But he could tell she was more eager than normal.

"What's her name?" She asked.

"Liz." The bartender answered as he handed them the drinks.

"What does she look like? Or what kind of clothes does she wear?" Percy questioned.

"Well, truthfully, I don't know much about her appearance. You see, she always wears an eyepatch and a hooded jacket. But even so, I can see that she's babe, and her left eye is electric-blue. Her skin seems smooth, like that of the young ladies from rich families."

Percy hid his grin. Finally, they had found some clues-huge clues. The girl beside him still showed no change. It seemed that if princess Liselotte was to play poker with her, Vivian would definitely win. She always kept her composure.

"Then, can you tell us where this casino is?" She asked.

"It's two blocks from here."

Percy looked at Vivian. She nodded. Then he said to the man, "Thank you so much for your help. Here, this is our thank you gift."

He handed him a small bag of diamonds. The bartender's eyes widened. He looked at the bag with shock, then looked up to give them his thanks, but they were already nowhere to be seen.

* * *

><p>"This is the casino, right?"<p>

"Yes. Let's find someone who wears a hooded jacket and an eyepatch," Vivian replied.

They walked into the noisy casino. There were people gathering around some tables or playing at the slot machines. But the innermost table got the largest crowd. The general girl gestured for him to follow her to that table. After some bumping, squeezing and apologizing, they saw the two players of that table. They were playing some kind of dice-based game. When they managed to stand close to the table, the game had already ended.

"Damn you, you cheater!" One player swore and left. The other one, who was supposed to be the winner, sneered. She was a tall and slim girl in a hooded blue jacket and black jeans. One of her electric-blue eyes was covered by an eyepatch. Her legs were propped up on the table.

Now the table was empty. No one was here except for the blue-eyed girl, who was counting the chips. Vivian pulled a chair from the nearby table and sat down on it. Percy did, too.

"Could you come with us for a moment, lady?" She asked. The girl looked up from her chips. When she saw them, her jaw dropped.

"V-Vivian!" She called.

Percy was surprised. He blurted out, "How do you know her name?"

The girl looked at him strangely and replied, "You know I'm princess Liselotte, right? You're a Successor. Then, how could I not know her? She-"

"Princess Liselotte," Vivian quickly cut in. It seemed she was trying to avoid the subject.

Unfortunately, the princess ignored her and continued, "Don't you know that she's the princess of one of the biggest and most powerful planets, the Evans?"

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes: <strong>Yay, a new chapter published! Bad news: there's a big exam coming up. I might take very long to update next time. Don't abandon this story, please? **Anyone who wants to know the map of the Army, raise your hands**. I'll make it for better understanding for the story. And the names of the Protogenoi and the Generals, too. I really like you, you know? Your review always lifts up my spirit when I'm down. (Like right now, I'm ill *cough*) Like it? Hate it? Please R&R! See you next time, guys.

**PS.** I really like Vivian. She has a deep background, too! Just wait and see. :P


	13. Princess Liselotte

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter12: **Princess Liselotte

* * *

><p><strong>First Announcement:<strong>

Now the ones who will receive the special chapter will be:

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**P.S. The special chapter will be sent after this mission ends!**

* * *

><p><strong>12<strong>

**Princess Liselotte  
><strong>

"Wha-! Princess?" Percy's jaw dropped.

"Seems like you really have no clue. Well, whatever," princess Liselotte finished her sentence to Percy and turned to Vivian. She smiled. "What a relief. I never really believed what the rumors say about your death, but seeing you in person like this really eases my worries. Where have you been all this time? Why haven't you contacted me even once? I thought we were close friends."

Vivian's eyes turned blank—even more than ever—as she looked at the princess. The look in her eyes gave Percy a chill. Whether they knew each other or not, he had a feeling that Vivian was being distant towards her.

"I'm not your Evans princess and I don't know you. I haven't even met you before, princess. Now, if you'll please quiet down and follow us, that would be greatly appreciated," Vivian said.

Princess Liselotte seemed stunned, to the degree that she went quiet for a while.

Percy looked at Vivian. He had never seen this side of her before. He had thought she was cold the first time they met, but that couldn't be compared to this. Then, a weird feeling struck him. He felt uneasy and, somehow, alarmed. Almost immediately, he knew there was danger waiting for them. He looked around the casino. At the entrance, a group of big men in black suits were walking in, looking around intently like they were searching for someone. When Percy saw them, that weird feeling stirred. He tapped Vivian's elbow and gestured in their direction. (Without looking in her eyes, of course. How would he dare, anyway? She was so scary.)

When she saw them, her face became even more solemn. Slowly, the General raised her forefinger up, her eyes shining like sapphire.

Princess Liselotte finally found her voice. She shouted. "What! That's not possible! You are Vivienne, I-!"

_FLASH!_

Suddenly, the whole casino went dark. People started to talk and shout. It was then that Percy's wrist was grabbed. He jerked, but the one who grabbed him whispered into his ear.

"It's me. We're leaving," Vivian said. She moved away from him and started to pull his hand after her.

When they were out of the casino, Vivian released his and the princess' hands. She turned to princess Liselotte and said, "Princess, please follow us."

Then they jogged to where the car was parked. After they got in, Percy drove the car in flying mode. As he was driving, Vivian started asking some questions. "There's not much time, so please answer my questions without asking anything. This is for your own safety. We would like to know the reason you came to this place, please?"

Princess Liselotte seemed reluctant to do as Vivian requested—she seemed to want to ask her some questions, in his opinion—but she answered anyway.

"My father's counselor, John Dickhead—I don't remember his last name, so I gave him a new one—has been trying to seize the throne. I've told father that he's a snake many times, but he refuses to listen. That shithead flatters father to no end, and he seems to like this counselor a lot. I thought if I stayed there, I could help father if something bad would happen, well, until a certain incident. One night, I was sleeping. John snuck into my room and tried to kill me. Fortunately, that bastard never knew I studied martial arts. I fought him back and nearly broke his neck when father came in. John put all the blame to me. He even said I invited him here to talk about private affairs together. Father got really mad at me and slapped my face so hard I could feel blood. He said to never leave my room for one week. I decided to endure and stayed. But Dickhead sent assassins to my room every night, I barely survived. So after three days, I came up with a plan to escape. My nanny helped me. She bribed the Xerxes in our planet whom she thought were trustworthy to escort me here. In fact, I'm still staying with them. I just love gambling and hanging out at night, and they let me do as I want."

They went quiet for a while. Then Vivian spoke up, "So that means we can't just give her to the Charon. First, we have to get out of this place. I'm sure the counselor's men are already scattered over the whole area. The best thing we should do is to hide and think up a strategy. But we don't have time. War could break out at any minute. What do you think, Percy?"

"We have to sneak into the Charon planet and find some evidence to reveal the counselor's crimes to the king. And that's…Wait, some flying cars are following us," Percy warned as he looked at the rearview mirror.

"There's the symbol of our planet on their cars. It's really them," princess Liselotte said.

"Focus, Percy. We'll use your plan, so drive to the atmosphere as fast as possible. I'll take care of them," Vivian said. She opened the car window and stuck her hand out, her eyes closed.

Although he was told to focus, Percy was curious about what she was going to do. He knew that she was the one who had made darkness consume the casino. He was sure the lights didn't go out, it was more likely that they were covered by darkness. So he would like to see what she could do with her power.

_WHOOSH_

"Arrrrrrrrrrgh!"

"Da hell is this black thing!"

The screams and curses from the following cars could be heard even within their car. Percy tried hard to focus on gaining speed, but he couldn't avert his stare from the rearview mirror. _The black thing_ they were talking about was actually their cars' shadows. Vivian had made them alive. The shadows had emerged from the ground and went up to the cars. They pierced the windows, wrapped around the cars, and some even strangled the passengers inside.

Then, as they went up the sky, reaching the atmosphere, the black bubble started to surround them, and Vivian had to finish the pursuers quickly. She flicked her hand one last time and closed the car window just as the bubble totally enveloped the car. However, Percy could still see what was going on outside as clearly as he was looking at it through glass.

_KA-BOOM!_

The shadows brought all the cars down and struck them hard on the ground. The engines exploded. No survivors were expected to be found.

"Holy shit! That was cool as hell, Vivienne! How did you do that!" Princess Liselotte shouted in excitement.

Vivian ignored her. She turned to Percy, who was already looking at her. "What?"

"You needn't have killed them."

"Percy, I'm sure you've learned it. Every monster here can think. They're not that different than humans. If you kill one monster, it's the same as you kill a person. So, if you kill a person, it's the same as killing a monster. You need to remember this as a Successor. You're new, so I can let this one pass, but not again. You'll soon learn this, too: If you don't kill, you're killed," Vivian explained, looking serious.

"…Yeah, you're right. Sorry." Percy replied in a quiet voice, recalling his feeling when he had faced Senior Shish Kebab.

"Forget it. It seems there's no end to them," she said in a low voice. He looked in her direction, and saw that many more cars were following them from the Xerxes planet. The symbol on the cars implied that they belonged to the Charon.

"Shit! Annoying scums!" Princess Liselotte swore.

"Speed up. I'll buy us time," Vivian told him. Of course, this place was at her advantage. Everywhere was dark, after all. She closed her eyes and made a sign with her hands. As Percy raised the speed to the max, he looked at the cars. Darkness started to envelop the machines, and they all vanished in a heartbeat.

"What did you do?" He asked.

"Just let darkness encircle them. It blocks their view for as long as I control it."

"It's useful, your power," he said as they entered the atmosphere of the Charon planet. A black bubble appeared as always.

They were now in the planet of orange. Like the Xerxes planet, everywhere they looked were fields and rivers, except the color was orange. Percy slowed down the car and let it land softly on the ground.

"What now?" He asked. "We can't go to the castle right away because the counselor's men might notice princess Liselotte, but if we don't go there, we won't get any evidence of his crimes."

"We'll find a shelter for now. I'm not controlling the darkness anymore, so the men outside might already know we are here. They may already have informed their boss as well," Vivian said, looking grim.

"I know someone trustworthy that lives nearby. She's a relative of my nanny who used to help her look after me. She's in the village not far from here," the princess said.

"All right, let's go there," Percy agreed.

* * *

><p>"Miranda. Miranda! Are you home?" Princess Liselotte called as she knocked on the wooden door.<p>

_CREAK_

"Who the hell woke me up at this hour of a night! I'll cut your—Wait! Is that my lil' princess Lisa?" A middle-aged woman opened the door as she spoke in a low voice, then she gasped and grabbed the princess' hands in astonishment.

"Oi, I'm not a child anymore. Stop calling me that!" Princess Liselotte pouted.

"Oh, thank god you're safe! I've been worried since I heard about your disappearance. Come on in. Oh, you two, as well. Come on, come on!" Miranda gave her a brief hug and pulled them all into her small house.

They sat on a bench quietly as they watched her going around grabbing some tea cups and finding a teapot. After a while, Miranda served them tea and sat down in front of them, smiling as she watched them drink.

"So, coming here this late, I guess you're having problems?" The woman asked in a kind voice.

"Yeah, _big_ problems," princess Liselotte started telling Miranda her story. Meanwhile, Percy asked Vivian if she had a plan.

"The princess must at least have some clue about what the evidence is. If not, she wouldn't have known the counselor is trying to take her father's throne. So we'll sneak into his room in the castle tomorrow night…," she paused, thinking, then continued, "No, we'll do it tonight, after we finish planning. We'll find the thing, and give it to the king. After the counselor's arrested, we'll have the king apologize to the Xerxes. That'll be it."

"Tonight? But we're still tired. Can't we rest until tomorrow?" Percy groaned.

"Think about it, Percy. This is Friday night already. We have to end the mission by tomorrow," she reminded him.

"Gods. Yeah, you're right. I have to listen to petitions on Sunday," he muttered.

"So that's what it is! I knew it. The counselor is evil. Aww, my lil' Lisa, you must be scared, oh my little girl," Miranda shouted as she hugged the princess tightly. Then, she seemed to realize something and turned to Percy and Vivian.

She stared at them, not saying anything. Getting nervous, Percy asked, "What is it, ma'am?"

"I know you helped her and all, but who are you? How can I be sure that you're on our side?"

"Why did you ask that, Miranda? You saw Vivienne. Of course she is my ally," the princess interrupted.

"I already told you that I'm not your princess Vivienne, I'm Vivian Quella," Vivian cut her off sharply.

Princess Liselotte opened her mouth to argue. Percy knew it would take a long time to stop, so he blurted out.

"Oh, we're Successors, ma'am. Here," he said, pulling up his sleeve so the black-crown tattoo on his left shoulder was shown to her. Vivian did, as well. She pulled up her sleeve, showing her black-cresent-moon tattoo.

"Oh, goodness. Successors. It's my first time seeing Successors…You two sure are good-looking! Thank you so much for helping my lil' Lisa," Miranda said, smiling broadly.

"You're welcome. So, princess Liselotte, could you tell us why you think the counselor is trying to take the king's throne?" Percy asked.

"Well…There was a time when I got really irritated at him when he excessively tried to take father's attention away from me. So, when they were chatting, I snuck into his room to drop some cockroaches in there. Guess what I found? On his work table, there was a pile of paper. I took a look at it and knew that it was his plan to seize the throne from my father. As it was laid on the table, if I took it, he would notice it immediately. So I went back to my room and waited until night fell. I told father about it, I was about to tell him about what I found, but the counselor appeared and totally changed the subject. When father went back to work, he left without saying anything. And when I snuck into his room again on the following day, I couldn't find the paper anymore. So I kept quiet. But I still told father many times to keep an eye out for him. I thought he knew that I knew, so he would try to get rid of me soon. I remembered that on the paper I saw the location he hid his rebellion troop, so I had some of my men go there. They never came back. And on the exact same day the counselor snuck into my room and attempted to kill me, as I already told you," the princess finished her story.

"So you're saying that if we want to reveal his evil doings, we have to find that paper?" Percy asked.

"Yeah. The paper has everything written on it. It even has his signature."

"…We'll hold him captive and have him tell us, then," he nodded to himself.

"We'll have to split up," Vivian said.

"Huh? Why?"

"She said there's a rebellion troop, too. Even if the king knows his intentions, he can still have his soldiers attack the castle and seize the throne by force. Or, even worse, he'll tell them to take the people as hostages and threaten the king to give the throne up to him," she explained.

"Shit…," the princess cursed. Miranda patted her head gently.

"When did you find out about his plan, princess?" Percy asked.

"A year ago. I was too scared to do anything. On the day he knew I had discovered his plan, he suggested to my father that I should have bodyguards. Of course, all of them were his men. If I did something suspicious, they would kill me. I managed to tell my men to go to his rebellion hideout only because that day was my birthday: there was a celebration, and I made them drunk. For one whole frigging year, I was watched closely, followed, and threatened. I didn't get any chance to tell father about it, because that bastard never let me talk with him alone."

They went quiet for a while. The princess' eyes were red, like she was about to cry, but she was able to hold back her tears. Then Vivian said, "I'll go to the hideout, Percy and princess Liselotte go capture the counselor and have him tell you about where he hid the paper."

"Wait. Vivian, don't you think that's too reckless? He has been planning a rebellion for at least one year. There must be many soldiers. Only you alone won't be able to take them all down," Percy protested, worried.

"I won't take them all down. I'll fight them until you finish informing the king about the rebellion troop, then you and the king's soldiers come to help me get rid of them," she said bluntly.

"Hey, that's still too dangerous. We don't know how much time it'll take, and you already used your power twice!"

"I still have a whole lot of it left, and I have my weapon."

"But you know there's a chance you might get killed, don't you?"

"Then what do you want me to do? There must be at least one person to hold back the troop if the counselor manages to send any sign to them, and you expect me to let you, my leader, do that? I certainly won't. I'm a veteran here, I've been in this kind of situation more often than you. Trust me, I can handle it just fine," Vivian said, her midnight-blue eyes looked directly into his sea-green ones.

He knew this would happen. Eventually, he would always lose to her in an argument. Especially when she used her eyes as a weapon.

Defeated, Percy sighed and said, "All right. You win. We'll do as you wish."

"Thank you," Vivian replied. Then she stood up and said, "We don't have much time. We have to go now."

And with that, they thanked Miranda and left her house.

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Phew, so tired! The exam week finally ended, and I, at last, updated. Tell you what, I got the highest scores at French and English. And the scores of my other subjects are second or third place! (Except for Philosopher, I suck at it.) Yahoo! I'm so happy! I'm on holiday now. I'll try to update faster next time.

**P.S.** It seems some of you are unsatisfied that I take so long to update. Sorry. I'll try harder.


	14. John Dickhead

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter13: **John Dickhead

* * *

><p><strong>First Announcement<strong>

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**P.S. The special chapter will be sent after this mission ends!**

* * *

><p><strong>13<strong>

**John Dickhead**

"What's your name?"

"Yes? Oh, Percy. I'm Percy Jackson," Percy answered princess Liselotte's question.

They were driving towards the palace. She had been quiet since she finished inserting details about the whereabouts of the castle in Percy's device. Then, out of nowhere, she turned to him and suddenly asked this.

"You're a Successor, right? Are you close to Vivienne?"

"Not quite, I guess. I just arrived at the Army a few days ago. But she's my advisor and she guided me around the Army. She's one of the closest Successors I've met."

"Advisor? What does that mean? Are you special?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Uh, maybe. I just happen to be Chaos' Successor, that's all," Percy replied, smiling wryly.

The princess' jaw dropped. "Holy shit! You-You're Chaos'—the king of Protogenoi's—Sucessor? Then that means…You're the king! But-But I heard he's never had any Successors!"

"Um, princess, please quiet down. It's nighttime. Somebody's going to throw their slippers at us," he said sheepishly. He continued, "As I said, I just got to the Army a few days ago. The people at my planet already heard the news. The nearby planets also did, too. I think the news will reach this area a few days later."

"So that's why the tattoo on your shoulder is his symbol. I had thought I mistook a grey diamond for a black crown. Well…I should be delighted, huh? The king's out for me himself."

Percy didn't reply. He just kept on driving. The faster they finished, the faster they could go help Vivian. Also, he wasn't into glory. A normal Successor seemed cool enough for him.

"What about Vivienne? She's a Successor of…Um, Eros?" Princess Liselotte asked.

"She's the General of the Erebus' House."

"General? Wow…But, well, that's expected. It's Vivienne we're talking about," she muttered. "Still…I never thought she would leave her planet to become a Successor like this."

"May I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why do you keep calling her Vivienne? She already said she's not your friend."

"Don't believe it. She's clearly lying! There's no one other than Vivienne who has eyes like that!"

"Eyes? Well, I won't argue that they're pretty. Very. But in this whole universe, there should be at least one person who has the same midnight-blue eyes as her."

"You don't get it. Have you even looked in her eyes directly? If you have, then tell me if you feel like you were being absorbed into those eyes at that moment."

"Yeah, you hit the point. I've been wondering for a while myself," Percy blinked, glad that he finally found an explanation to the strange thing he had been curious about all along.

"Uh-huh. She still doesn't know it. Well, it's related to her clan's ability. I can't tell you what, it's a secret the Evans clan treasures."

"Ability…Like, reading my past through my eyes?" He guessed. He remembered the first time they met. When he asked her if all the Erebus Successors could do that, her answer was no: The only one who could do that was her.

Princess Liselotte's eyes widened. "You—How did you know!"

"She's read my past once when we first met."

"Ah…Yeah. That's the Evans' secret ability. No one knows about it. That just confirms my presumption. She's Vivienne. Princess Vivienne Adelaide Encarnacion di Evans."

"And I thought yours was the longest name in the universe," he muttered.

"I've finally found her. I've told myself she's still alive for nine freaking years. I prayed for her every day. But now that we've met again, why did she have to be cruel like that? Why did she have to pretend she doesn't know me?"

"Why? Alive? What do you mean?" Percy asked, knitting his eyebrows.

"I don't know much myself. There's a certain incident in the Evans planet. In my opinion, it's coup d'etat. Because after the Evans opened their planet again, there was a celebration for the new king. And that's when…the rumors about the death of the former king's entire family leaked out," she lowered her voice at the end.

_Coup d'etat? Death?_, Percy thought. He was about to ask more but was stopped by a sound.

_Beep Beep_

"Ah, we're here," Percy said, looking at his device. He turned it off, shutting the _beep beep_ sound. Then, he turned to princess Liselotte and whispered, "Okay, I'm going to tell you my plan again. We'll sneak into the counselor's room and threaten him to tell us where the paper is. Then I'll need your help to go inform the king about this, because I'm not so sure he would be pleased getting woken up in the middle of the night by some unknown guy. If the plan goes smoothly, the counselor will be arrested and we can go help Vivian with many soldiers. But if it goes wrong, I'll have to put up some action against the counselor's allies inside the palace while you hide. We'll go as quietly as possible, all right, princess?"

"Right. This way," she gestured for him to follow and led the way. All the lights in the palace were already shut. They had to walk a bit because Percy had parked the car quite far away in order not to be seen. The guards were playing card games and drinking beer: they didn't even notice someone was sneaking in. Having the princess as a guide was useful; she led him into to the castle by going into a secret passage behind one of the rose bushes, which she said was her way into the castle when she went out to play secretly. The passage ended, they had to climb up a ladder. Percy was a little surprised, seeing her climb so professionally—too superb to be just a girl.

When they exited, he found himself in a big room, decorated magnificently like an aristocrat's room.

"This is my room. I got the key to father's and Dickhead's rooms," the princess whispered as she went to her desk and pulled out a drawer. She grabbed some keys and walked past him to the door.

They came out from her room and entered the dark hallway. As he followed her, Percy couldn't help wondering. Had he ever seen anything this clearly at night before? Everything he saw now had almost no difference than when he saw them at daytime.

_It must be one of the Successor's abilities_, he thought.

Princess Liselotte paused. She pointed at a door on their left and mouthed, _here it is_.

Percy took the key from her and slowly unlocking the door. It opened. He pushed the door open and looked around for any danger. When he was sure everything was safe, they entered the dark room. Because of his enhanced eyesight, Percy could see where the counselor was sleeping. He got close to the bed, uncapped Riptide and pointed it and the old man's throat.

His eyes fluttered open as the cold blade touched his skin. His voice shaking in fear, he stuttered, "Y—You!"

Percy grabbed one of the pillows and pressed it on his mouth, shutting him up. He asked, "If you shout or move an inch, there's no guarantee that this blade won't move. Now, where's the paper that has your rebellion plan? Tell me where it is, or else."

His eyes narrowed, the counselor looked around. When he saw princess Liselotte smirking at him, he shot her a murderous glare. Percy put the pillow away from his mouth and he spoke.

"Shitty brat. Always hindering my plans."

"Ha! It's a thousand years too soon for you to be able to crumble my father's throne, you old bat."

"You damn-"

"Save your insult for later. If you don't tell me now, I'll cut your throat," he said, moving Riptide closer to the counselor's neck.

"Who the hell are you to order me? Do you really think you and that sissy little girl can stop my plan?"

"Shut the hell up, you piece of shit. Who's he to order you, you ask? Well, then I ask you, who are you to question him? He's the only Successor of Chaos, retard," the princess cut in.

John's eyes widened, he opened his mouth to ask. Percy didn't want to waste time much longer, so he pressed the sword on his skin. The sharp blade cut the unprotected skin easily and blood started to flow out. Before the counselor could scream, Percy glared at him, so he pursed his lips together, his eyes full of anger.

With an unsteady voice, he answered, "In the box under the bed."

Princess Liselotte bent down and pulled out a wooden box from under the bed. She looked at it for a while and turned to Percy. She said, "It's locked."

Percy turned to John with an intense glare. The counselor cursed and answered, "The key is behind that picture on the wall, shitheads!"

The princess went to the picture. It was a picture of a crow. She pushed it aside and found the key stuck to the wall by tape. She removed it and put the key into the lock. It finally opened.

Princess Liselotte looked inside and picked the paper up. She said, "This is the right one."

"Alright," Percy replied, he then turned to the counselor. "Thank you your information. I apologize for hurting you. Now, I need you to fall asleep again. Sorry."

He raised his hand to knock John unconscious. But before he could do so, the old man snorted and said, "You think you could get off easily? You fools! Heh, you won't live to see your daddy fall, brat. Tell you what, there are two keys! I'm not just an old man, kids. I knew this was going to happen, so I've already prepared for it. That key you're holding is kept behind the picture I had put some device on. If you move the picture, every bell in my soldiers' rooms will ring. They're coming now, coming to slaughter you! Mwahahaha-!"

_Thud!_

Before John could talk any longer, Percy smacked his head with the hilt of his blade. When he was sure the old man was out for real, he turned to the princess. Their anxiety was seen through their expressions.

"Don't worry, princess. I'm going to finish them all off now. In the meantime, you go to your father. We'll meet up at the car. Make sure you bring all of the loyal soldiers with you there, okay?" Percy said after a while.

She stared at him. "Don't act heroic if you're considering suicide the best way out"

"I'm serious, really. I once fought a horde of monsters, and I survived. Um, have you ever heard of Achilles' Curse?"

"Hey, that sounds familiar. I think I saw the word somewhere in the history book my tutor gave me. Hmm...Is it the stupid guy whose heel was stabbed and died pitifully?"

Percy gulped. He was sure _that stupid guy who died pitifully_ she was talking about might not be very satisfied about this. He answered anyway, "Yeah."

"Wow, that means you can't be harmed?"

"Takes an hour to explain. Just don't worry, I won't die, princess. Now, please go fulfill your duty," Percy pleaded. The princess nodded and stormed out of the room.

He gripped Riptide's hilt. It was becoming clearer and clearer, the sound of footsteps and metal clattering. He knew the soldiers were coming from downstairs. And with his enhanced hearing, he could make off their number. There were about fifty of them.

_What rotten luck_, he thought.

Still, he knew he couldn't wait. Sooner or later, he and Vivian would still have to eliminate them. Finishing them now was his duty, as well. He must do it fast so he could go help Vivian defeat the main troop.

Determined, Percy jumped from the window and swung himself into the hallway of the first floor through the open window.

_Slash! Slash!_

Without saying anything, he started the sabotage. The soldiers turned to look at their fallen comrades, stunned. They couldn't move for a second, but after that they charged at him. Percy didn't have much trouble fighting them, partly because of the difference between the grades of their swords.

"Arrrrrrrrrgh!"

"Don't retreat! Fight that damned beast, morons!"

What's more, he knew his abilities had been increased since he became a Successor. He could feel it, his movements, his strength, they were all better. What dreaded him were the screams of the injured soldiers. All his life, he had almost killed no human. But now, lying behind him, was a pile of dead, or gravely wounded, soldiers.

_This won't do. I'll be outnumbered if this continues_, he thought.

As he fought, Percy's eyes darted back and forth, looking around the place. Then he found them: the chandeliers. There were about three of them that were hung right above the men. The problem was, every time he used Chaos' power, he needed time to concentrate. Could he concentrate while fighting? Even when using sea power, he still used time to summon the water. And there wasn't any bathtub or glass of water near here.

_If I fly and do it, I'll succeed. But that'll just exhaust me. I'll have to do it_, Percy thought.

Then he figured it out, as he was fighting, that the mind and the brain could work separately. While fighting, he used his brain and reflexes, but he let his mind wander to the center of his Successor power. It took a lot of effort, though, to be able to separate them. He released his power a bit: Percy didn't want to risk suffering that kind of after effect in the middle of a mission.

He could feel it now, the feeling of power all over his body. Like last time, he could see and hear things clearly for kilometers. He raised his free hand and flicked it, filling more gravity under the three chandeliers. They started to shake, their roots loosing from the ceiling, then they all fell.

_BOOOOM!_

"GYAAAAAAAAA!"

It was more effective than Percy had expected. Many soldiers were crushed under the chandeliers. But the candles fell on their clothes and many of the unwounded soldiers caught fire. Percy didn't let this chance go to waste. Although he felt a bit tired from using his power earlier, he put on some more speed and slashed at them till the last one.

* * *

><p>"Where's the Successor you mentioned? He hasn't shown up yet. Perhaps, he's been defeated?"<p>

"Don't say that, father! Percy's Chaos' Successor and he's got the stupid curse, he can't die that easily. Well, I haven't seen how well he can fight, but I—Hey! That's him! Over here, Percy!" The princess waved at Percy, who jogged to them.

"Did I take long?" He asked.

"No, no. Here, this is my father, the king of the Charon. Father, this is Percy," princess Liselotte gestured at an old man in a night gown beside her. Percy knelt.

"Oh, no. Don't kneel. Please, stand up. How can I let a man of the same position as me kneel before me?" The king said.

_Oh, right. I forgot I was a king, too_, Percy thought. He rose and bowed.

"My apologies for destroying three of your chandeliers. I'll-"

"Oh, don't mind it. You're the one who helped my daughter, and now you just eliminated the traitors for me. I already heard the battle sounds and I think you're amazing. You alone could take out an entire horde of trained soldiers, and you haven't got any scratch on your clothes!" The king pointed at his clothes.

Percy examined them. True, they were all the same as before, not even stained. He guessed it was his robe that protected his body from being harmed, that's why the clothes weren't torn.

"Thank you. And what about the counselor?"

The king's face darkened. "He just got life sentence."

"Oh…Great, I guess," Percy muttered. He turned to look at the soldiers around them. There weren't many. Fewer than the ones he had fought. He saw big boxes with wheels, so he asked the princess what they were for.

She answered, "For transporting the soldiers to the hideout. This way it'll be faster. Well, are you ready to go now?"

"Yeah, then I'll be off. If you'll excuse me," Percy bowed again and got into the car. As he was driving off, the soldiers started getting into the boxes.

He drove in flying mode to where the device told him to. He was worried. Did he take too long? Was Vivian still alive? What would happen if she wasn't? If she really wasn't, he would be the only one at fault. A big failure.

Five minutes passed. He thanked the flying mode that had helped him several times. Normally, by this distance, it would take about half an hour. He got out from the car. Outside, signs of a battle could be seen. He relaxed when he heard the sound of fighting. The battle was still going on, which means Vivian was still alive.

_Oh, gods. Is she really human? She took out about…eighty! Holy mother!_ Percy gaped at the sight he was seeing. He couldn't even find an empty spot on the ground because of the bodies.

He ran past heaps of dead soldiers to the opened secret door on a wall, where the sounds of battle were the loudest. He glanced around the room, finding Vivian. She was fighting, her movements graceful, like she was dancing. He couldn't see her weapon, because she was showing her back at him. But what he could see clearly was something else.

"Watch out, Vivian!"

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes: <strong>Hello, guys! I updated, despite my gloomy mood. Took three days to write. And today I got the bad news: my rabbit has died. I was stunned. She has stayed with me so long I never thought she would leave me now, just like this. I brought her in seven years ago. I still remember the feeling I had when I held her little body. Now she was bigger than a cat. I never took care of her, I only fed her on holidays. And when she died, I thought, why didn't I do this? Why didn't I treat her better? I regret it. It's true, this saying: You know one's value when they're gone. Now when I go to the backyard I won't see her anymore. (I hate pain. It seriously sucks.)

Well, drama, huh? I'll stop ranting. Just to let you know that when I wrote the end of the chapter my mind wasn't very…stable. There might be mistakes. Bye, guys. I'll try to update faster.

**P.S.** I updated because **1973** PMed me. For those who want faster update, you can PM me as well.


	15. The Tragic Massacre

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter14: **The Tragic Massacre

* * *

><p><strong>Announcement<strong>

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_The mission has ended in this chapter._

**The special chapter will be sent to all of the above (who told me the address) on Sunday**

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_**Don't worry, another special chapter will come soon! Wait for the opportunity!**_

* * *

><p><strong>14<strong>

**The Tragic Massacre**

Vivian was noticing the strange smell in the room when her body started acting weird.

Just a moment ago, she could still fight with ease, not dropping a sweat. But all of a sudden, her arms became limp, like they were losing the energy they once had. Her legs began shaking as they threatened to fall. She contracted her muscles, trying to get them to work.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The method seemed to work, as she was able to hold onto her guns tightly again. She rolled over, fired her gun, dodged the slashing down sword and kicked the rebel so hard he flew back on top of his comrades. Her eyes catching a movement on her left, she swerved to one side, shooting the man down.

"YAAAAAAH!" A man charged at her from behind, his sword raised, ready to cut down.

Vivian fired her gun backward, killing him. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a group of soldiers coming her way. From their movements, she could guess they were just a decoy; another group must be waiting to attack her from behind if she turned to fight with them. Coming up with a plan to counter their scheme, she bent over, ready to somersault. Just then, a wave of dizziness washed over her. She wobbled and fell on her knees.

"Ah…!" Her eyes widened as she saw those soldiers charging at her, eyes full of triumph. The other group she was expecting to appear earlier came out, as well. Her eyesight blurred, her breaths short, she tried to move her arms. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn't respond to her commands. Her body had truly gone numb, there wasn't even any feeling from her arms or legs. She thought of using her Erebus power, but to no avail. The power needed much concentration and some movements to fully make use of. With her consciousness barely holding on like this, she couldn't even hope.

_Or…has the time finally come? _

…_No, not yet. I can survive without doing _that_. There has to be a way…_

Vivian thought calmly as she looked at the tip of the blade coming down from above.

"Watch out, Vivian!"

KABOOM!

The room fell silent.

"…Percy?" Vivian whispered his name, stunned.

It all happened it a blink of an eye. Just before she was about to do the thing she hated the most, a voice came from the entrance. She recognized it immediately; it was Percy's. And suddenly, she felt a strong force around her.

Percy had crushed those soldiers flat, but with an unknown power.

With much difficulty, she tried to look around. Her body still felt numb, so she could only look ahead. But just that was enough to describe what had been done.

The ground surrounding the spot she was sitting, about three meters wide, was now on the lower level, with a pile of the rebels' bodies on top of it. It was a like a big hole dug into the ground around a meter deep, except for the spot she was sitting on, which was still on the same level as the floor.

"Oww…That kinda hurt," Percy mumbled, clutching his stomach.

"…!" Vivian and the rebels blinked, chasing away their astonishment.

"O-Oi! Whatcha doin'! Kill these damned beasts!" A soldier shouted. The others obliged.

"HAAAAAAAAH!" They charged at both Vivian and Percy, who was still holding his belly, his face pale.

His eyes met hers. Percy bit his lip, uncapping his pen. Riptide gleamed in the dim light. He mouthed. _I'm fine, you alright?_

Vivian tried to nod back at him. But she changed her mind; she wasn't all right at all. However, shaking her head wasn't easy either. So she rolled her eyes, left and right, telling him she wasn't okay.

"Don't worry, the king's soldiers are coming. They're a bit slow, though," Percy shouted to her, lifting his sword up to guard himself from the swarming soldiers. He glanced her way and narrowed his eyes. Apparently some soldiers didn't fall for his plan to divert all the attention to himself so Vivian would be safe.

He somersaulted and landed behind the men darting up to her.

"Hey, stupid!" He called.

When some soldiers turned to look at him, Percy started slashing at them. He ran forward, dodging the blows and swinging his blade around. He crouched down as someone's sword moved past his head. Percy swung his sword and cut the guy's neck.

The soldiers who were aiming for him at first started running toward him again. Percy kicked the man on his right aside and sent him flying toward his two companions. He dodged an attack from an untrained soldier and cut his throat. The last two soldiers remaining in front of him looked at each other and charged aimlessly at him. Percy swerved to one side, stabbed the first guy through the chest, dodged the other guy's blow and pierced his neck.

He ran to Vivian, not even looking at the last group of rebels behind him. He jumped across the hole and crouched down beside her.

"Vivian, hang on. What's the matter? Where's your wound?" He asked, and continued, "Hey, answer me, please. Are you hurt anywhere? And what's with this strange smell? It stinks!"

Vivian stared at him. Moving her mouth only a little, she asked, "What smell?"

"Can't you smell it? It's only in this room, this strange smell. It's really bad, and it makes me feel sleepy, too."

Her eyes widened a bit. She warned him, "Quick, Percy. Cover your nose. This smell, it's toxic for Successors."

"Eh?" He blinked, confused. But after getting a glare from her, he hurriedly tore two pieces of cloth from his shirt and used them to cover his mouth and hers.

"Make my hand hold it. I can't move my body," she demanded. Percy did as he was told. He removed a gun from her left hand, put the cloth in it, propped her knees up and, with her knees as the supporter, he placed her hand on her nose. Then she said, "Hold them off for just a little while longer."

"Okay," Percy nodded, thinking what she meant was the king's soldiers were coming to help.

_About an eighty left. Even though Vivian has eliminated about a hundred and I have about thirty already. There's really no end to them_, he thought, tying the cloth to his nose.

As Percy charged at them, Vivian's finger moved a bit. With the toxic she had inhaled gone, her power started coming back again, little by little. After a while, her hands were able to move. She closed her eyes, trying to draw the Erebus power inside her. But, no matter what she did, she couldn't use it. There seemed to be something blocking the power inside.

"This annoying body…," she muttered. She waited until her arms could move and put her gun on her calf.

BANG!

Silence followed.

Percy and the soldiers froze in their tracks. They turned around to look at the woman who was sitting on the floor.

Slowly standing up, Vivian flicked her arms and legs, warming up. A lot of blood flowed from the wound on her calf, but she didn't seem to care. She showed no facial expression: no pain, no angst, no rage, nothing. She then tied the cloth to her nose. Picking up her gun, she turned towards them.

Instantly, all of them flinched, Percy involved.

"W-What's with that girl? She's no human!" A soldier near him muttered.

"Who's gonna take the hero's role and kill the crazed demon?" Another one asked.

"Who would be that stupid? She's scary as hell!"

That…Percy couldn't disagree, so he kept quiet. He looked at her again, but Vivian wasn't there anymore.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Shit! She's here! Uwaaaaaaaah!"

Suddenly, Vivian appeared behind everyone and started firing her gun. They were all head shots. The rebels freaked out and tried to run away. It had become a little chaotic.

"Percy, help me fight," she ordered.

"Huh? Eh? Oh! R-right!" Percy hastily replied and set to work.

Vivian jumped and fired her guns rapidly. She used the fallen soldiers as base and hopped from one to one, shooting those around her down. Percy moved around in a steady pace, swinging his sword. Suddenly, he stopped moving and just stood still, waiting for the enemies to take this opportunity. And when the two men from his left and right swung their blades at him, he bent down, letting them kill themselves. Then, using the dead soldier as a shield from a swarm of swords jabbing at him, he tossed it at the masses of rebels before him. They staggered, trying to avoid the porous corpse. Not wanting to waste the chance, he slashed at them with an increased speed.

While fighting, Vivian contemplated the situation. She looked at the remaining soldiers, her eyes calculating. Then, she stopped firing her guns. Instead, she just used them to smack the men's faces and kicked them. She kept her guns away by putting them into her cloak, and they just disappeared.

Despite being weaponless, Vivian still couldn't be underestimated. With her bare hands, she grabbed the heads of two guys, banged them together so hard the two fainted, and kicked them toward their comrades. She staggered a bit. Taking a glimpse at her wounded leg, she saw that the blood wouldn't stop spilling out. That was obvious, though. She hadn't stopped moving even once after she shot herself like that. Ignoring the pain, she jumped up and brought her kick down on one of the rebels' head. The force was so strong the guy's head was stuck on the floor. Then she grabbed two soldiers' necks, and with sheer strength, she broke them.

_CRACK! CRACK!_

The other rebels who saw this tried to run, terrified by her act. Of course, Vivian would never let them. She grabbed their necks and cracked them, one by one.

A moment later, she brought her guns out from her cloak again. She turned to Percy and shouted to him, "Percy! Lift me up!"

"What? Oh, roger," Percy replied, splitting a near guy's throat. He concentrated on his power, lessening the gravity beneath her.

Vivian was now two meters high in the air. The rebels gasped and shouted, "Monster! She's not human!"

She kept her stance elegant, even as her blood was flowing so much. The girl held her guns up, her eyes narrowed. Then, lights started to form at the muzzles of her guns. They got bigger and bigger, until they were about two inches wide. Vivian finally fired her guns.

WHOOSH!

"GYAAAAAAAAAH!"

"ARRRRRRRRGG!"

The lasers cut through all the obstacles in front of them. The soldiers in a line before her guns were pierced through like meat balls. She moved her guns left and right; more enemies fell down. Then, the lights died, and she put her guns down again. Vivian nodded at Percy, who was having difficulty holding her up that high from the ground. He released his concentration and Vivian landed on the floor.

No rebels left. There were only two of them in the room.

"Ahhhh…Finally! Hooray!" Percy mumbled under his breath, falling on his back.

Vivian kept quiet as she fell on her knees, the blood still flowing out. Percy heard the sound and got up immediately.

"Vivian! Hey! Are you alright? Gosh! You're even paler than normal!" He rushed to her, propping her up carefully.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're definitely not! Geez, why did you do that!"

"I did what?"

"You shot yourself, idiot!"

"If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been able to fight. The paralysis wouldn't have gone away, and I would have been a hindrance."

"But you-! Oh, I can't believe you. Seriously, have you ever thought about your own well-being? Ahhhhh, I don't know what to say anymore," Percy ruffled his hair in frustration.

"…I'm sorry."

"Why are you saying this to me? Oh, darn it, we have to stop your blood first!"

"Wait. Do you hear anything? It's like footsteps," Vivian said.

Percy listened to the sound, then his face lit up. "It's the king's men! They've come! Let's see if they've got a mobile medical unit with them. Wait here, I'll go get them for you," he said as he positioned her on the ground gently and ran to the exit.

After some time, the doctors came and healed Vivian's injury.

* * *

><p>"Our deepest apologies, Successors!" The general of the Charon force apologized, bowing his head.<p>

"Please, it's nothing important. You couldn't come help us because you were ambushed by the rebels, so you don't need to be sorry. It's a good thing you defeated them. We're just pleased we've been helpful to you," Percy said, smiling slightly.

"But your friend was severely injured, and-"

"Quit that already, general. You're making him feel uneasy," the king walked up to them and cut the general off. He waved his hand and the general backed away.

"Your Majesty," Percy bowed.

"Ah, I've told you already that you don't need to do that, Percy. It's me who need to bow to you. You and Vivian have done us a great favor. We'll never be able to pay you back."

"It's all right, your majesty. After all, it's our duty."

"By the way, where's Vivian? I heard she's got a big wound," the king asked. Percy was about to answer when another voice interrupted.

"Vivienne, does it hurt much? What can I do for you? Awww, that must have really hurt!"

It was princess Liselotte's. She was trying to catch up to Vivian, who was walking towards them. The General girl only replied, "Thank you for your concern, but I'm perfectly fine, princess."

"Ah, there she is. Are you okay? What happened?" The king asked when the two finally walked up to them.

"It's just a small injury. Please don't let it worry you, your majesty," she answered, avoiding telling him the cause of her wound. Aside from the bandage around her calf, she looked same as ever. Or maybe she was paler than usual because of blood loss.

"How could that be, Vivienne? It was a _huge_ wound! Geez, how many times do I have to tell you this? Treasure yourself more! Father, help me teach her," the princess said, looking at the king.

"…Please, princess Liselotte. Please remember my name correctly. It's Vivian, not Vivienne. Also, please don't be disturbed by this small incident," Vivian said.

The king smiled. He looked at Vivian gently, not saying anything. Then, after a while, he finally said, "Vivian."

"Yes, your majesty?"

"I won't say much, because it's your life, I can't meddle with it. But, know this, though. Whatever has happened already ended, and it can't be changed. Time can't flow back. It might have changed your life, your personality, your way of thinking or your goal. But the past is the past, now is now. You can't let the past events affect your current self. It's you who decide your fate. Whether it's bloodshed or peace that's lying ahead of you, it's you who set that. I'll be watching over you. I want to know if you'll take back what was yours or just leave them all behind. Anyways, what I'd like to say is…You can always come back here if you want. You will always be welcome here," the king said, placing his hand on her shoulder and looking at her with affection, as if she was someone he held dear.

Percy turned to look at Vivian. For some reason, he wanted to know what kind of face she would make after hearing these words.

A look of gratitude passed over her face. Although she was expressionless as usual, her eyes wavered with gratefulness. It was only a short moment, though. Because she quickly regained her composure and bowed her head.

"If you'll excuse us. Let's go, Percy," Vivian said, walking away. Percy was about to follow when princess Liselotte spoke to him.

"Look after her, okay? She may look strong and unapproachable, but she's soft inside."

Percy nodded and sprinted after Vivian, who was already getting into their car.

After some time, Percy started driving again. Below their car, hundreds of people came to send them off. It was a rare sight.

"Hey, Vivian," he called.

"Yes?"

"Well, you…Um, err…"

"What is it?"

"It's just…Ah, what I wanted to say is…Uh, your guns are cool!" Percy blurted out.

_Oh, heck. I'm an idiot. I didn't want to talk about that at all!_ Percy thought.

"Yeah, they are. Jaiden specially made them to fit my fighting style," she agreed.

"Can I see them?" He asked. Vivian reached into her cloak and brought out her guns. Percy noticed something strange and asked, "Wait. Are there any pockets in your cloak? I don't know how you keep your weapons in them."

"Don't you know? Every General's cloak isn't just some normal cloak. They're really useful. They can protect us from any harm. Heat and coldness included. What's more, we can keep things inside them. The first General of the Thesis House used an unknown method to create a space in our cloaks, so we can store things inside and bring them out anywhere we want. But there's a limit to the things you can put in, though. The heavier your things are, the heavier your cloak gets. It'll make you really uncomfortable," she explained.

"Whoa, amazing! I thought we wore them just to make a difference between normal Successors and Generals. This is great," he exclaimed excitedly, putting Riptide into his cloak. It disappeared. But when he searched for it in his cloak, it was there.

Percy turned to look at Vivian's guns. He wanted to touch them, but couldn't, because he was driving. Her guns were big, around 320 mm. long. The muzzles were around 50 mm. wide. Just by looking at it, he could tell they weighed a lot. They were black, their shape was like that of the laser guns from sci-fi movies. However, something was odd. Normal laser guns didn't have blade-like pieces under the barrels like hers.

"What's this?" He asked, pointing at the blade.

"It's for close combat. It can extend to layers of blades as I wish. Full auto magnum. Although It has a big muzzle, the surface is engraved, making it better for the bullets to fire. It will gain stability once it reaches near the end of the muzzle. The speed of the projectile is on par with a revolver. But in order to keep up the speed, the gun powder loaded is high. It may burn the muscle and flesh, so only Successors can use it."

"Wow, they're great," Percy mumbled, fascinated. Then, he asked, "What about the laser you shot?"

"Yeah, it's a laser gun after all. But the lasers take time to wait for their charging. So normally I use the bullets. In fact, there are even greater attacks by lasers, but I didn't bring them with me. I thought this mission wouldn't involve fighting, that was ignorant of me."

"Nah, that was epic enough. With the shooting yourself part, killing over a hundred of men on your own and all. Oh, right. I forgot to ask. What made you unable to move at that time?"

Vivian's expression became serious. She said, "I'm not sure yet, but if what I think is true, then we're going to have a hard time ahead for sure. It was about the smell you noticed. Don't you find it weird that the soldiers inhaled it too, but they were still fine when I wasn't?"

"That doesn't sound very good," Percy pointed out.

"Of course not…." Her voice trailed off. He looked at her and saw that her eyes were half-closed. She looked weary and sleepy. His lips curled up into a small smile.

_This is the first time I've seen her sleepy_, Percy thought.

"Let's discuss this with Jaiden later. For now, rest, Vivian."

"Yeah, I'm resting."

"No, I mean, you can close your eyes and fall asleep. I'll wake you up when we arrive."

"But if there's any enemy-"

"There won't be. You're really tired. You lost a lot of blood, too. You have to take a little nap. I'm worried you might get an anemia. Just close your eyes, Vivian," he prompted. She was hesitant for a while, but she obeyed. Vivian closed her eyes at last.

Percy looked at the defenseless sleeping face, thinking to himself. Even though Vivian was strong, she was still a girl. This girl had had a tough life, but had told no one about her past. He wondered why.

_I wonder what she's dreaming about_, he thought, slowing the car down a bit so it wouldn't disturb her.

* * *

><p>"Princess! Run! Please run away! They are coming—Ahhh!" A young woman shouted to a little girl before her, panicked. Then, as she was talking, a hand grabbed her neck and lifted her up. She squirmed, trying to breathe. With difficulty, she turned to the girl and whispered, "Run…My princess…"<p>

_CRACK!_

The man broke her neck.

"Jane! Jane! Ah…Help me!" The girl screamed the woman's name and ran away as fast as possible, not looking back. She ran along the dark corridor, panting hard, eyes full of fear. She turned at the corner. Then, she saw a scene.

In front of her, tens of bodies were laid on the floor, all of them covered in blood. The red liquid was splashed on the floor and the wall, leaving almost no space left. Moreover, those faces were all familiar to her. The aristocrats who always came to play with her whenever they had free time, the servants who always took care of her, her aunt who always bought her lovely dresses and dolls, and…Her grandparents, who always comforted her when she cried. Now…they lied there, motionless.

"A-Ahhhhhhhhh!" The girl screamed, tears falling down from her eyes, her hands covering her mouth. "No! No! No!"

She staggered, turning her back and running away with shaking legs. "What happened? Everyone, where are you? Why…Why is there…so much blood, so many people lying on the floor! *sob* No! Father, mother, where are you!"

The girl ran and ran, wailing, her eyes shut. Then, she tripped over something and fell down.

"Ow! *sob* Uh, it hurts…."

"Princess…" A voice sounded behind her. She turned, eyes full of hope.

"Wha-!" A soldier was lying there, his eyes half-closed. There was an arrow stuck in his chest.

"Please…Escape…" The dying man told her and closed his eyes.

"Mister, are you—are you okay?" She asked, her voice shaking. With a trembling hand, she reached out and shook him lightly. "Wake up, please. This isn't the time for a nap. Mister, do you hear me? Ah…"

When there was no response, she grabbed his arm and shook it. What the girl didn't expect was that it was detachable from his body. She looked at the thing she was holding—a human's arm, with blood dripping from its cut—eyes wide with shock.

She looked around—left, right, behind—and realized what she had missed by shutting her eyes. All around her, bodies of soldiers were piled up. Body parts were scattered around their corpses. Blood was splattered all over the place. The corpses were seen all the way to the door of the throne room, twenty meters ahead of her. The whole hallway was painted blood-red.

"Ah…Ah…*hic* No…Father, mother, I'm scared. I'm terrified…," she whispered, crying.

Slowly, she got up. _At least_, she thought, _I'll have to go tell father and mother about this_. Avoiding the corpses, she walked to the door. When she got there, she opened it.

"…!" The first thing she saw was a body at her feet. It was the body of a fat man whom she knew very well. The prime minister lied on the floor, his body cut into two.

She covered her mouth, wanting to scream, but something caught her eye before she did. In the middle of the room, she found her mother.

In a puddle of blood, lying motionlessly with a deep cut on her neck, her mother appeared before her eyes. Her once-white dress had changed into a red one.

_*stab*_

A strange sound caught her attention. The girl looked up from her mother's corpse.

"Vi—Vivienne…"

No mistaking, that was her father's voice.

Her father was standing in front of his throne, eyes wide open, looking at her. She saw a sword protruding from his chest. Then, he fell down to the floor.

_*Ba-dump* *Ba-dump*_

With her father fallen down, she saw the guy behind him.

_*thump* *thump*_

Standing high and proud, holding a bloody sword, his face blood-stained, was...him.

That hair. Those eyes. That face. That person was…

"N—NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Hey, guys. Sorry I was late. But, this chapter's super long. Took me three days to write. The action and tragedy scenes and all, they were all hard to write! Anyways, terminal exam's coming up, I'll update after they're all finished. Look forward for the special chapter, everyone!

**P.S.** Did I make it too dramatic? The last part was the craziest thing I've ever created. I wonder if you'll still like Vivian after this? I still do :)


	16. The Traumatic Nostalgia

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter15: **The Traumatic Nostalgia

* * *

><p><strong>Announcement<strong>

Those who have received the special chapter, please leave a review about it.

The special chapter: Enemies, or best partners? has been sent. There are still some who didn't receive it.

Haven't created a connection with me: **Chaoslover1, drake1579**

Haven't downloaded the chapter: **uberswifthammer, jall1234, The Nutty Squirrel, Life and Death and Void, InfiniteCosmos**

And the next special chapter is **Vivian's Full Background**. I'll tell you when I finish it.

Oh, for those who missed the first opportunity, don't worry, there's another chance.

_Thank you!_

* * *

><p><strong>Re:Joe Lawyer;<strong> The information about that will be explained later as the story progresses. Now it's just hard to load everything into a chapter. I have so much more in stock, and I haven't even revealed half of it. *sighs* And about Percy, try to understand him a little. He just left all his precious things at Earth and came to this new world, there's no way he doesn't feel upset about his home. And the things he's just learned are still very new for him. Percy's reaction around women is the same. He still thinks he belongs to Annabeth, so he tries to stay away from them. But he'll get accustomed to it in no time, I assure you.

* * *

><p><strong>15<strong>

**The Traumatic Nostalgia**

"Vivian, Vivian…Vivian!"

Vivian's eyes fluttered open. Percy was shaking her, calling her name, his face worried. She looked at him with wide eyes for about three seconds and asked, "Where are we?"

Percy let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were gone for good just now. You really scared me to death. You were frowning and shaking. Your body even went cold. Were you having a nightmare?"

She inhaled and nodded. "It hasn't bothered me for many years, until just now."

'Did meeting with princess Liselotte trigger something?', that's what Percy wanted to ask. But after seeing her face, he decided not to.

"We've arrived in the Inner part of the city," he informed.

She looked around. They were in the parking lot. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Well, as I said, you scared me. I had been trying to wake you up for minutes, but you wouldn't even move. Then you started shaking and your body temperature rapidly dropped. You know, it's like you were possessed by a bad spirit."

"Sorry. Let's get back before sunset," she said and they got out of the car.

"Why do we have to walk on the roofs?" Percy asked, jumping from roof to roof after Vivian.

"We're famous here, Percy. Everyone in the city not only knows us, they idolize us. It can get pretty creepy when you're walking normally, then suddenly a crowd of screaming people appears out of nowhere and surrounds you."

"Okay, I got it."

It wasn't long until they reached the army. They quickly went in and headed towards the Thesis House.

"Hey, Vivian, Percy," someone called them. It was Rayner.

"Oh, what's up, Rayner?" Percy greeted him.

"Well, there's council meeting. You two come with me," Rayner told them as he strode toward the Tower.

"Who called for council meeting?" Vivian asked, following him.

"Lucilius and Wilhelmina. They went on a mission and found the agency's plan."

"That's big news," she muttered.

"The agency?" Percy tilted his head.

"Ah, yeah. So no one's told you about this. There's the Protogenoi Army that's keeping peace in the universe, right? So there's the agency that's trying to destroy it."

"You mean…It's the army of villains?"

"You could say that. It's more likely a guild of criminals. Most criminals join the agency in order to receive protection. If they continue to commit crimes and don't join the agency, they'll be hunted down by us. It's not that criminals in the agency won't, though. However, those who are under the protection of the agency are really hard to track down and catch. It's because the agency has people almost as competent as us. Their technology could match with ours and they keep upgrading their bodies. It's unfair because they know where we are, but we don't know where their hideouts are located. Moreover, the agency is divided into twenty units, scattered around the universe. There's a ranking, too. Ranked criminals are really hard to beat," Rayner explained.

"I see. But what do you mean by upgrading their bodies?"

"They turn themselves into cyborgs. Not all of them, though. Some just turn their arms or legs."

Percy made a face. Rayner chuckled and said, "But these days, catching them is a lot easier. Since the Thesis House made the Criminal ID card detector, we've been able to catch a lot of ranked criminals lately. But the ID card's sign always disappears and reappears somewhere else to hide where their hideout is. It seems we still can't locate it. Still, at this rate, we'll catch all of them soon."

"They've found a way to counterattack us, though," Vivian cut in.

The pretty guy knitted his eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

She brought something out from her cloak and handed it to him. "Don't open it. It paralyzes Successors."

"What?" Rayner widened his eyes, examining the green bottle in his hand carefully. Percy took a close look too, since Vivian never showed it to him or mentioned it.

"When did you find this?" he asked.

"After I was nursed I went back to the rebel's hideout and looked for it before meeting you."

"You said it paralyzes Successors?" the pretty guy inquired worriedly.

"I'll explain it in full detail at the meeting. Let's hurry, everyone's waiting for us," Vivian rushed.

* * *

><p>Percy once again stepped into the Identification room, which was on the ground floor of the Tower. He followed the two Generals to the stairway hidden behind a black curtain in the corner of the room.<p>

When they entered the first floor, Percy exclaimed, "Whoa."

The room looked like it was from some sci-fi movies. First, there was a round metallic platform in front of them. Then there were all those sci-fi-looking computers and hand scanners around the room. Last, he saw a gigantic monitor on the wall which seemed like a big map.

"What's this room?" he asked excitedly.

"This room belongs to the intelligence department of the army. I'm sorry I haven't told you this. Basically I'll take the newcomer upstairs after he/she has been Identified. But you blacked out, so I had to take you to your House," Rayner said.

"Nah, don't take it to mind. What about the intelligence department? I have never seen them."

"I'll sum it up shortly. Before that, you follow Vivian's example. Stand on the platform and let it scan you. It's the entrance to this room and other floors. Only the Generals and those from the intelligence department can pass this body scanner," he explained, pointing to Vivian, who was standing on the round platform. Green lights appeared around her body in a cylinder shape and there was a light _beep_, then she stepped down.

"I'm not sure if even NASA has this," Percy muttered.

Well, there was nothing to lose. He did the same as the two Generals had, and he passed. Rayner then took the little time they had to tell him what he had to know. Actually, what Percy wanted to know most at the moment was 'What would happen if non-General or non-intelligence-department-member stepped on it?' But he brushed it off.

"This room contains all the information we've obtained. It's all stored in the computers, but if you want to use them, you must put your hand on the hand scanner first. And that big map over there shows all the inhabited planets we know. It's not full-scale, though. You have to touch it to view its description."

"You said inhabited planets, which means there's more?" Percy asked as they climbed the staircase to the next floor.

"Yeah, many, many more. It's like islands. People buy them to show their prosperity or to keep them as vacation places. Especially the Protogenoi, they make bets using their planets."

"I see. And…What's this floor?" he asked as they entered the second floor of the building.

This room was simply like a library, with bookshelves around the room and a big table in the middle. On the table were scraps of paper and pieces of maps. Some people were sleeping in a sitting position and some (with big glasses covering their eye bags) were browsing through the many documents, drinking black coffee. They all looked worn out and seemed as if they haven't stepped out of this room for weeks.

"The intelligence department also owns this floor. It's their office, really. This is where all the geniuses of the army are gathered. They do all the brain-required work, like planning strategies and locate the agency's hideouts. As you can see, there's so much work they can't even leave this room. That's why their rooms in their Houses are often clean and empty. Oh, right. They also assign missions for normal Successors. You know, the missions on the mission boards in every House."

"Mission board?" Percy lifted an eyebrow.

"Ah, I forgot yours is special. Well, we Generals get missions directly from the Protogenoi, right? But normal Successors can choose their own mission. It's like a hunter can choose which wanted criminals he wants to chase. The missions are printed into posters. All the information is described on it: the number of people going, the location, and the rank. There are D, C, B, A and S ranks, which indicate how difficult and dangerous each mission is. We Generals, on our free time,—which we don't have that much, I tell you—also accept S ranked missions from the mission board. The intelligence department decides which mission should be assigned to each House. It's a lot of hard work, but still not as hard as ours. Vivian has told you about our work as Generals, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded. The Generals' work concerned the whole planet. From calculating the income and expenses of the army, governing the city (which _is_ the most troublesome part) and keeping watch over the Death section. Speaking of which, he had to listen to the townspeople's petitions tomorrow. He felt tired just from thinking about it.

"And now we're about to reach the last floor of the Tower, the council meeting room. Here all the Generals and the Protogenoi gather in a meeting. But there's Gaia, who sends a clay clone of herself instead because she's asleep. The Nesoi and the Ourea take shifts coming to the meeting. And Chaos never comes. Do you think he'll come this time?" Rayner asked.

Percy shrugged. "Don't know. He's never said anything about it."

_Then do you think I should attend?_ A voice appeared in his mind. He halted, surprised.

_You scared me_, Percy complained.

_Sorry. I want your opinion. Do you want me to attend the meeting?_ Chaos asked.

_It's your choice. Why'd you ask me?_

_Well, I have always been absent when there's a council meeting. My reason was 'I don't have a General, so I don't want to go'. But now I've got you, so I'm asking if you want me to go or not._

_Well, to be honest, I don't think you should go. You're just as ADHD as me. I'm afraid you being there not only doesn't help, but also causes problems._

_Gee, we do have the same idea. I hate sitting still, it makes me feel old. I'm not attending, then. But I'll be using telepathy. So don't worry, you won't feel lonely, Perce_, Chaos said in a cheerful tone.

_And what excuse do I have to give? The other Protogenoi are there, aren't they?_ Percy asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

_Nah. Aether and Phanes are there. I'm not sure Erebus will like this, but those two will help me. At least they can handle Hemera's tantrum better than me. _

The staircase ended in front of a big door. Vivian pushed the door open and they went in. In the dim light, the room was dark, but Percy could see everything clearly. Sculptures were placed on both sides of the room. The Olympian statues were on the left and the Titan statues were on the right. A few yards away from him, a very huge table stood. It was round and, in his opinion, made from precious material. All around the table were seventeen comfortable-looking thrones. Every one of them had its owner's House's symbol carved on its back. The thrones were all similar, except for the one facing him, the biggest one.

"Ah, they've come. Shall we begin now?" Lucilius was the first to speak.

There they were, sitting on their thrones, the Generals. Vivian and Rayner walked to their thrones and sat down, which left only one throne for Percy: the largest one. He went to his throne and sat down. Then he noticed them, the other pairs of eyes he had felt watching him. They weren't from the Generals on the table, they were from above. Percy just realized there was a mezzanine in this room. It was built in full-circle around the room, surrounding them. On the mezzanine sat the sixteen Protogenoi. They sat behind their Generals in a vertical line. Sitting on his throne, Percy met their gazes.

"Wait, where's Chaos?" a Protogena sitting behind Calista asked in a sharp tone. She wore a white cloak and looked exactly like her statue: bright-colored eyes and platinum-blonde braided hair. She was Hemera, the Protogena of the day, the one Chaos described as _a nagging grandma_. Percy couldn't believe that. She looked young and very pretty.

"I'm asking you, Percy. Where is your Protogenos?" she repeated her question, her eyes narrowed.

He answered nervously, beginning to realize the true reason of what Chaos had told him, "Um, he said he wasn't going to come—"

"Not coming? How could that be! That lazy jackass, always skipping the important council meeting!" Hemera growled.

"Chill, Hemera. Chaos goes where he wants. It's just not his nature to do something that doesn't please him. Let him enjoy his life," a man spoke. He sat right behind Rayner, so he must be Phanes, the Protogenos of generation and procreation. The guy looked gorgeous in his gold cloak. His face was something between feminine and masculine, beautifully handsome. He had the same look as Rayner (even his pretty face): purple eyes, silver hair and fair white skin. It made Percy curious if all the Generals had the same features as their own patrons. He looked around, comparing them, and found the answer. They all had the same eye colors and hair colors.

"_Enjoy_ his life? We've let him _enjoy_ for about twenty thousand years! He always managed to get off by saying he didn't have a Successor, let alone a General. And now look at him, Percy Jackson, sitting there, flesh and blood! I need to wring that bastard's neck right _now_!" she thundered.

Percy winced at the mention of his name. He was troubled by this, but the others didn't seem to. The Generals just sat, looking back and forth between Hemera and the other Protogenoi who argued with her, like this was a normal occurrence. The Protogenoi seemed bored, as if they were fed up with this kind of argument.

"Really, Hemera, stop nagging. You bring this up every frigging time we hold a meeting. And you know what it does for you? It increases your wrinkles. You look older each time you talk about this. Leave him be and apply more makeup, grandma," another Protogenos said. He was also grinning as he talked, actually. With the familiar mischievous glint in his eyes, it wasn't hard to tell who he was. He was Aether, the Protogenos of light, Lucilius' respected patron. The General guy turned and gave his Protogenos a thumbs up, a satisfied grin on his face.

Some Protogenoi cracked up, which enraged Hemera even more. Her General, Calista Moore, looked sheepish, but she didn't say anything.

_Mwahahaha! That was awesome! Way to go, Aether!_ Chaos cheered inside Percy's head.

"Shut your trap, Aether! You, too, should look at yourself! Because you and Phanes always root for him like this, that blockhead got cocky and never listened to reasons!"

"Oh, no! Hemera, sad to tell you this, but another wrinkle appeared on your face! This is horrible! Someone help that old hag! Phanes, can you cure her?" Aether completely changed the topic and he managed to sound so surprised and terrified as if he was _really_ feeling that way. Judging from his shaking shoulders, Lucilius was trying hard to hold his laughter in.

Phanes sighed, although he still got an amused smile on his face. "I'm afraid her case is too late to heal."

_Hahahaha! This is fun!_ Chaos laughed enthusiastically. Percy scratched his head, looking at the two sitting beside him for some help, which didn't really make him feel reassured. On his left was Vivian, sitting quietly with her back straight, looking elegant and mute. Her look clearly stated she wasn't going to butt in between this heated conversation. On his right was Lucilius, the one who seemed to be having a lot of fun hearing people arguing. Percy sighed.

Hemera looked tremendously offended (which she should). Her face went red with anger and embarrassment. She opened her mouth and closed it again, as if at a loss for words.

"Lady Hemera, please don't be worried about Chaos. He isn't here because he doesn't like sitting still and being formal, but he's using telepathy. I can voice his opinions if he says anything related to the topic," Percy used the chance to inform her. The Protogena paused for a moment, then, after a while, she cooled down.

"Really? That's good to hear. But it'd be best if you could convince him to be present here next time," Hemera told him.

"I'll try my best," Percy promised, although he didn't really think he could do it.

"Whoa, you're amazing, Percy. You calmed her down," Phanes praised.

"Well, he's right. But there's one mistake, Percy. You don't have to call her 'Lady', just call her Annoying Old Hemera," Aether added, which didn't help. Hemera glared at him, before she could open her mouth, Pontus, the Protogenos of seas, spoke.

"Now, now. It's getting pretty late. We should get to the topic. Lucilius, what did you find?"

Lucilius started, "I—"

"_And_ Wilhelmina" Wilhelmina, the General of the Phusis House, interrupted.

The guy looked annoyed. "Yeah, I and Wilhelmina found the agency's plan when we went to Earth. It's about turning the demigods to their side in order to counterattack us."

Percy's ears buzzed. He felt like someone had smacked his head. _Demigods_, the word rang in his ear. The other Generals just got jealous. Apparently they wanted to go to Earth too.

_You alright, Perce?_ Chaos asked, his tone worried. Percy snapped out of it and regained his composure. He answered, _yes_.

"That's big trouble. If they combined the demigods' godly powers and their technology…Well, I can't imagine how anything could be worse," Nyx, the Protogena of nighttime, shuddered. In the dim light, she kind of looked like a ghost. Her pale skin, her long black hair and her black cloak explained why.

"It could be worse," Vivian spoke. Everyone's eyes turned to her. She placed the green bottle on the table. "This is the sample I found at the battleground where I and Percy fought the rebels on our mission. Inside is the gas which paralyzes Successors who inhale it."

"Really?" some Generals gasped.

"I didn't notice it when I entered the room, so I fought in that room for about ten minutes and then my arms went limp. I contracted my muscles and was able to fight for a few minutes more but then my whole body went numb," Vivian explained.

"But you survived in the end. Well done, Vivian," Pedro, General of the Ourea House, let out a sigh of relief. The others nodded.

The General girl shook her head. "Percy helped me."

"Hmm? Speaking of which, we still don't know what kind of power Chaos possesses," Cynthia, the General of the Hydros House, said, smiling cheerfully. Every General looked at him.

"It's gravity," he answered. There were some wow's and oh's, but he caught Vivian's eye and her expression said, _We'll talk about this later_.

"So now we've got two very big problems to ponder about," Phusis concluded with a sigh.

"But I warned some of them to look out for the agency," Lucilius said.

"Actually, _one_ of them," Wilhelmina corrected. The General guy glared at her, annoyed.

"Well, yeah, but I _did_ warn her, unlike someone who did nothing at all."

"I did nothing? If I hadn't helped you with the criminal, you'd have been in big trouble!" Wilhelmina scowled.

"Heh, silly, that guy was nothing for me. If you hadn't interrupted, I would've killed him singlehandedly. Admit it, you didn't really help."

"You—"

"Alright, children. Stop arguing. We've seen enough argument today and I'm starting to feel tired," Hydros, the Protogenos of fresh water, cut them off.

"Don't worry. The one I warned was a child of Athena. She seemed really clever. What was her name?" Lucilius asked.

"Annabeth," Wilhelmina replied.

Percy felt like he had been slapped hard in the face. The name really froze him. They went to the place he had run away from. They met Annabeth. They talked to his girlfriend. Or maybe ex-girlfriend? Since Annabeth stopped talking to him before he left Earth, they didn't officially break up, but that wasn't the way she would treat her boyfriend, either. Plus, he doubted they'd ever meet again.

_Percy_, Chaos called. _Are you hurt?_

There was a long pause before he replied, _No. Well, I was stunned, but not hurt. It's just…when she said her name, the memories flooded and I, I missed her_, he admitted miserably.

_I know that feeling. I used to feel it, long ago, but the pain is still new and fresh like it was yesterday. Still, I lived though it. Millenniums of yearning for the deceased beloved, I could surpass the pain. Time doesn't help anything. Only you can rid yourself of this trauma. I believe you'll find a way someday, Percy._

Percy didn't say anything back, but he was grateful for those words. From the way Chaos spoke, he knew the Protogenos truly understood him. He inhaled and raised his face, only to find that Vivian was staring at him with no expression. He wondered why, and it hit him: Vivian had read his past the first time they met. Of course she would know who Annabeth was, or how important she was to him. He avoided her gaze.

"Oh, that's right. She seemed to know you, Percy," Wilhelmina said.

_You should tell the truth, Percy. Don't run away_, Chaos warned.

Percy cleared his throat. "When I was on Earth, she was my girlfriend."

The Generals and the Protogenoi seemed surprised. The Phusis General quickly apologized, "I'm really sorry, Percy."

"It's alright," he managed a weak smile.

"So, we've got one thing partially settled. But what about the gas?" Hemera asked.

"Jaiden will deal with it," Thesis, the Protogena of creation, said. Vivian rolled the bottle to the Thesis General, who was partly asleep.

"We should send some Successors to keep a look on Camp Half-Blood," Chronus, the Protogenos of time, suggested.

"I'll go!" many Generals raised their hands enthusiastically.

"No, normal Successors should be enough. Allen, send some of my Successors to scout around the camp. Oh, Calista should send some Hemera Successors, too. So that they can guard the camp day and night," Nyx said to her General and Hemera's General.

"Does that mean we can all go now? The problems are all taken care of, after all," Ouranos, the Protogenos of sky, asked.

"I guess. I'm off, then. Council dismissed," Aether said before flashing out of the room. The other Protogenoi did the same. The Generals rose from their thrones and started to walk out of the room. Percy followed them.

Then, as he had expected, Vivian walked up to him.

"Let's have a talk."

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Been a month since I last updated. Sorry, guys. My class rep wanted my help with the class' product. Because of that, I haven't finished the Mark of Athena yet. **[MOA Spoilers]** Well, you know, having seen how hard Annabeth had searched for Percy, I feel guilty separating him from her. *sighs* And what's with Piper? How could she say Percy was unimpressive? Man, I couldn't believe her. Anyways, hope for new developments next chapter.


	17. The Eternal Youth

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter16: **The Eternal Youth

* * *

><p><strong>16<strong>

**The Eternal Youth**

"So…what is it?" Percy asked.

They were sitting on top of the Tower's domed roof, overlooking the entire front half of the army. The wind blew, and Vivian gathered her long hair together. In the dark night, her skin seemed to glow. Her midnight-blue eyes shone like sapphires.

"Has Chaos ever told you what your power is, Percy?" she questioned.

"Um, no? But his cat…I mean, his friend, told me one of Chaos powers is gravity…"

"That means there's another power," Vivian concluded.

He frowned. "There is? But I can only use gravity."

"No, you've used another power. Remember that one time when I was about to be killed, but then you came and crushed the rebels flat?"

"Of course I remember. The pain after that…Man, it felt like my stomach was melting. I never want to try that again," Percy grumbled.

"Percy, what you used at that time wasn't gravity. You can lift things—even fly—by using your gravity power. But not crush things. You can increase gravity under an object and let it fall to the ground, so it's destroyed, but what you did at that time isn't this process. The floor was crushed and there were holes. Gravity _can't_ drill the ground."

He blinked. So he had created holes in the ground? Wow, he wanted to see them with his own eyes so much. At that time, all he saw was rainbow-colored dots. He had been too dazed to observe anything.

"Then what can?"

"I'm not really sure, but in your case, it could be air pressure. Normally, air pressure is exerted on our bodies from all directions, as long as the planet we're in has air. But if you add air molecules in certain places, for example, above the object, the pressure will be increased and the thing will be crushed. Of course, if you subtract air molecules from the object, the air pressure around it will make it implode."

"English, please."

"Basically, what you did was inflate the air pressure above the soldiers and the ground around them."

"So this is my new power? How did I learn to use it? Nevada hadn't even taught me…" Percy mumbled.

"Nevada?"

"Oh, um, she's that friend of Chaos I mentioned earlier."

"Well, this is some useful information. You need to master this power, Percy. This means a lot for our army's combat force. Maybe you didn't see it, but I saw all of it. Just one attack, and a lot of soldiers were crushed flat. If you combine the two powers you have together…" Vivian's voice faltered at the end. Percy shuddered at the thought. Only one power made him suffer like never before, if he used two…Well, he'd never commit suicide like that.

"It's a two-edged sword, mind you," he noted.

"Yes, I used to get hurt a lot when I first got the power, too. But then I tolerated the pain and practiced it every day, and finally I got used to it. My title wasn't that easy to achieve, you know."

"Wow, now that I think about it, how long have you been a General?"

"Four years," she replied.

Percy stared at her, wide eyed. "How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen."

"What? Then…You were promoted to General at twelve!"

She nodded, like it was a matter of fact. "Getting promoted to a General isn't something that should be celebrated, though. Because it means that the former General's died."

"Oh…So all the Generals of this generation are about our age?"

"Yeah. We were promoted almost at the same time. There was a big war between twenty planets, we lost several Successors. The war ended two years ago."

"Well, how ironic. The Titan war on Earth has just ended, too. So all the Successors here are all teenagers?"

"No, only a few are."

Percy gaped at her. "But as far as I can see, they are all young!"

"Successors are young for eternity, Percy. As long as we don't die in combat, we live on. We stop aging once we turn twenty. This is the price we must pay for power. As long as we're alive, we'll witness our loved ones wither and pass away. We'll never see how our senile selves would look like. And maybe someday you'll wake up and find out you've forgotten who your parents are, who your lover is, and all the distant memories…because of time. I've seen one. He's in my House. He's now three thousand years old, and he's already forgotten where he came from and his family."

Percy was stunned. He couldn't think or say anything for a few seconds. When he began to think, the _immortal_ part bounced up and down in his head. Right, the thought never occurred to him. He had been offered godhood once, but he rejected it. There wasn't much difference between a Successor and a god. Immortality didn't bother him that much, but the way Vivian said it…like she had already considered the consequences that would follow the benefits. It dreaded him a little.

One day, he would forget all his friends and family on Earth? Annabeth? Mum? Poseidon? Camp Half-Blood? He became a bit shaken up after realizing this.

_Three thousand years…Heck, a few thousand years more and he could be an Olympian_, Percy thought. _But it's a good thing I'll stay healthy forever. Naw, this whole immortal thing isn't as bad as it sounds. It's not like I'll survive that long, right?_

As if reading his mind, Vivian reminded him, "You _have_ to stay alive as long as possible. Forever, if you can. Remember, Chaos only has one Successor. If you die, there will be no more. Unless…Unless you can convince him to choose another one, but I think that's very unlikely."

He sighed, frustrated. "I don't know…Sheeeeesh, forget it! This will happen in the future, anyway."

Vivian didn't say anything. She just stared at the starry sky quietly. Watching her, Percy wondered how she could stay indifferent about all of this, telling him the detail with no emotion shown on her face.

"Hey, Vivian…"

"Yes?"

"Don't you feel anything about this? Someday you'll forget all your past, even how you used to be. Don't you feel sad?"

"Hmm…" The girl closed her eyes. "Sad, huh…"

She muttered. Percy waited. When she opened them again, he saw a glimpse of pain and sarcasm in those blue orbs. Whatever it was, her pain was immense. A pain so great it could burst out anytime, but seemed like it had been hidden in the deepest depths for a long, long time. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of life this girl had _endured_.

"If I could really forget my past…That would be the best blessing Erebus has ever given me," she answered in a quiet voice.

Percy didn't know what to say in this situation. He wanted to comfort her, like a good friend would do, but the problem was he didn't know how. Her walls were too high for him to climb. He knew, by instinct, that she would never tell him—or anyone—the detail of her past life. What was he to do, then? If she shut him out like this, he couldn't hope to help.

"I'm sorry for asking this, but…Vivian, don't you want to cry a little? I can see you're in pain."

There was a long pause before she spoke. "Cry? Maybe. But it seems…I've lost the ability to cry."

Percy frowned. "Huh?"

"I used to be a happy girl. I used to smile all the time and cry a lot. I used to think I was the luckiest and happiest girl in the universe. But all of that came to an end after a certain incident—the day I lost everything."

Her voice was a monotone, as if she was talking about what movie she had just watched. But her eyes were lifeless. Even without touching, he could tell her body was cold. Percy looked at her sadly as he came to a realization: Vivian couldn't be saved. She had buried herself in a pit so deep no one could reach down and pull her up. Unless someone knew the root of the problem and came to her rescue, she couldn't hope to see any sunlight in that dark place she was in. For eternity.

When Percy finally found his voice, he asked her, "When did you come to the Army? How did you meet Erebus?"

"He found me unconscious and brought me into a cave deep in the forest in my planet. Actually, I had just turned eight the day before we met. There, he nursed me back to health and taught me everything I had to learn to fend for myself in the wild. I lived with him in that cave for a year, then he told me to choose: to come with him to the army or part ways. Being lost as I was, I accepted his offer immediately. I couldn't afford to lose my last family in the whole universe. So, I arrived at camp when I was nine. I spent three years serving the army, and when the former General died, I became his replacement."

Listening to her story, Percy felt awed. She spent a whole year with Erebus?

Vivian sighed. She looked like her normal self now. "That was weird. I had never revealed my past to anyone in this army this much before. Only Erebus knows. It feels a little…exposed. But I guess I felt…relieved?" she mumbled to herself.

He stared at her, confused. "Then why did you choose to tell me, of all the Successors?"

"Well, for one thing, you are my chief. I need to show respect for you. And the other, you looked down. So I thought I would show you that when you think it can't get any worse, it can. And when you think it can't get any better, it can. If you ever feel sad or have any negative emotions, you will know that, at least, you haven't got the worst luck in the universe."

Percy blinked, then he laughed. "Seriously, I don't get your twisted logic. But that means you were trying to cheer me up, right? Well, thanks, Vivian. I totally forgot the whole immortal thing," he said, giving her a small smile. She had said all that with her normally serious face, and he couldn't help laughing.

"The Earth stuff, as well?"

"Huh?"

"You were feeling down after you heard about Camp Half-Blood and Annabeth, and no one seemed to know or notice it. I didn't want to leave you alone, so I called you here. Well, I didn't know how to start, because I'm no good at comforting people. And when I spoke, I found out that I had gone a totally unrelated topic. Really, I'm hopeless and socializing…" Vivian confessed, looking a bit nervous. He noticed her twine her hair. Maybe she did that when she felt uneasy?

After hearing all this, Percy couldn't help but smile. Vivian's another trait discovered: caring. "You know, you're a lot caring than you look."

"Eh?"

He chuckled. "Nothing. Thank you, Vivian. You cheered me up."

"Ah…No, the one who has to say that line is me. Thank you for staying with me and listening to my story. I have never felt this…light? Relieved? Well, I've never felt like this in a long time. I don't feel so safe revealing my secret, but I feel good after telling you. I guess it's because you were a good listener. Thank you, Percy."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Vivian, when you thank people, at least let them know that you're really grateful."

She had thanked him with that blank look on her face. At the very least, he wanted her to have another expression when giving people her thanks.

"How?"

"At least, you should smile a little."

Vivian shook her head. "No, I can't smile."

"Why?"

"Because ever since that day, I've lost two of human's most important facial expressions: smiles and tears. I had spent all my tears on a single day. And when I smile, it won't reach my eyes."

Percy sighed. "Is that so?"

Vivian seemed to realize something. She looked at him and inquired, "Percy, you have to listen to the people's petitions tomorrow, right? Then you should go to bed now. I'm sorry for taking your time. Please have a good rest. See you tomorrow," the girl said before jumping off the roof, leaving him there, confused.

_Wow, that was quick_, he thought. After a while, he jumped off to another House's roof and arrived at his room's balcony.

"Welcome back," Nevada said, crouching on the railing.

Percy smiled. "You were waiting for me?"

"Today's lesson: petitions. I'll force all the detail into your head. You'll have a few hours to rest before dawn. The maids will let the people come in at eight. Hurry, we have little time," she said before walking into his room.

He groaned.

* * *

><p><em>The following day<em>

"Morning, Perce!"

Chaos' voice echoed in Percy's room as he pulled the curtains open. Percy, who was lying on his bed, mumbled something and hid under his blanket.

"It's past noon now, Chaos…"

"Uh-huh. So you should get up and grab something to eat," the Protogenos said as he sat on a sofa.

"No, I've eaten. I had duty this morning…"

"Duty? Oh, right, you listened to the townspeople's petitions. How was it?"

"It was okay, but I'm frigging exhausted. I slept for only a few hours yesterday, so let me rest," Percy muttered under his cover.

"Don't you have work? I heard the mayor of the Outer city is requesting for a fund to build a new dam, right?"

"Dunno, I'll finish today's work later. I need a nap…"

"Aren't you supposed to follow today's schedule?"

"He has to visit the Inner city's mayor at four to check on the well-being of the people and then attend some aristocrat's party at seven, the unoccupied time will be spent on finishing the documents. I had planned today to be as free for him as possible, because I knew Percy would be like this. But tomorrow he has a very tight schedule," Nevada appeared from behind a couch and jumped to her little bed.

"Tomorrow he has work? That's too bad, I'll have to postpone the date," Chaos said, thinking.

"Are you here to give him a new mission, baldy?" she asked.

"Yes, ugly stinking fatass."

Instantly, Percy pulled his cover down. "Whaaat? Mission, again?"

"Yep. Feel like going out and kicking some butts?"

"Hell no."

"Oh, you're so enthusiastic about it, I see!" the Protogenos clapped. "This time you'll go in a three-man team."

"Seriously, I just came back, like, yesterday? And would you look at my paperwork, please? They're piling up higher and higher every time I leave," Percy grumbled.

Chaos laughed. "Come on, Perce. You know you're not only a king, but you're a Successor. You were given power because of that."

The Successor sat up in his bed. "Speaking of power, Chaos, Vivian told me—"

"Right, as I thought, she's sharp. As expected from the former chief of the intelligence department," the Protogenos muttered.

"Huh? Vivian was?"

He sighed. "Yeah. But that's not important. The mission I'm about to assign you, well, it's a bit adventurous."

"What's it about?"

"What the council discussed about yesterday, the Successor-paralysis gas. Jaiden has finished experimenting on it."

"What? But he got it yesterday!"

Chaos chuckled. "That's the Thesis General for you. Now he and Wilhelmina are trying to specify the ingredients used to produce the gas. It seems they are all rare plants, even the General of the Phusis House has a hard time identifying them. I guess the agency worked some magic on the gas, or maybe…" His face darkened. "They had captured some of the Successors and do experiments on them."

"That's horrible."

"That's only the nature of the agency," the Protogenos snorted. "Anyways, once those two know which kind of plants the inventor used, we'll locate all the whereabouts of the plants. The planet which has all the plants together should be the place where the inventor's lab is located. However, I'm not so sure they can identify all of the plants. Some of them might be invented by the agency. So we're sending two teams to find the source of the gas."

"Sounds like something big," Percy said.

"Duh. You know what, Perce, if we don't hurry and destroy the production of this gas, we're doomed. Imagine, if the agency used the gas here, in the army, and attacked you guys when you can't move, what would happen?"

He paled. "Successor chop."

Chaos nodded. "I wonder where the rebels in the Charon planet got the gas, or maybe someone bought it. Unfortunately, those rebels were all executed—by you and Vivian."

"Not our fault," he murmured.

"The first team has Wilhelmina and Jaiden, who have knowledge of the gas' ingredients. And Megan, the Nesoi's General will also go, so that she can interrogate the inventor. You know, her methods are awesome and scary. I guess Thesis is quite worried because Jaiden rarely leaves the army. He always has to stay and provide you the needed things or invent new tools."

"Um, all of you have been telling me the Nesoi-are-scary stuff for a while. Are they really that dreadful?"

"Percy!" The Protogenos looked extremely frightened. "This is my utter warning: Don't _ever_ get on their bad side! I and Aether pulled a prank on them once, and we both regretted it. The Nesoi got their revenge on us. It was terrible!"

"What did they do to you?"

"I and Aether got different punishments, but we never told each other what it was. Now I'm telling you mine, so keep it a secret, okay? All right. What we did was feed their favorite underwear to some whales. It wasn't a big deal—"

"For women, it is. You dumbass," Nevada interrupted.

"—But they were furious at us. One night the Nesoi came to my place and handed me a laurel wreath. It turned out to be the Nesoi's special handcuffs—the handcuffs they especially made for binding other Protogenoi. Then they brought me to some ice planet and stripped me. They made sure to take my boxers off. It was freaking freezing, as the planet's temperature was minus hundred degrees Celsius. And you know what came after that? They threw me into a pond full of seals. The water was, I tell you, deathly cold for mortals. But there's the more dangerous threat: the seals. I didn't know why, but they tried to bite my…Well, my manhood. With the handcuffs binding my hands, I had much difficulty swimming and getting away from those seals. And to make matters worse, they had tied a plummet to my feet so I couldn't come out from the pond. Being a Protogenos, that was the first time I experienced fear. The Nesoi watched me struggle for about four hours and released me. After that incident, I never tried to plan any pranks on them again," Chaos shuddered.

Percy shivered. "Did—Did you lose your manhood?"

"Fortunately, I didn't. I was athletic. But I barely escaped them."

They went quiet for a while. The only sound that could be heard was Nevada's sneer. Then Percy spoke up. "I got what you mean. Let's get back to the topic."

_I wonder what kind of punishment Aether got, though_, he thought.

"Ahem, so the first team is Wilhelmina, Jaiden and Megan. They will find the inventor's lab using the gas. Your team will do something different. You will find the inventor by asking his acquaintances."

"I still don't see any reason why I'm needed in this mission."

"Asking the criminals in the _violent_ way, I mean. Since we pretty much know the inventor must be from the agency, you'll just have to catch some criminals and ask them."

Percy knitted his eyebrows. "I don't think they'll just tell us obediently…"

"And that's why there's the other two. Tracking the agency's criminals is a hard task, because they have a good hiding place. Only the clever ones can manage it. And when you talk about obedient, you think of?" Chaos left it at that, expecting him to fill in the blank.

"Ananke?"

He snapped his fingers, satisfied. "Correct! And since she's the former chief of the intelligence department and she has experience with the gas, Vivian will go with you."

"Vivian will go?"

Chaos' look turned smug. "Hmm? Didn't you sound a bit too enthusiastic just now?"

"What? I was just glad someone I'm close to will go with me, that's all," Percy quickly said.

The Protogenos gave him a bantering look and chuckled. "Plus, Vivian can read memories. It'll be a lot faster when you extract information from them. I think she's very sharp, since she noticed your power right away. It's a good thing she told you, as you might have to use it on the mission."

"What do you mean?"

"That power will come in handy when you want to destroy things," he winked.

"You make no sense," the Successor stated. "So this mission will have me, Vivian and an Ananke's Successor?"

"Uh-huh. I'll give you some tips about Ananke, since I come into contact with her a lot due to my pranks. She's self-centered and very proud of herself. So it's best if you don't hurt her pride or say something that could insult her. She's a bit insecure, so you have watch your mouth around her."

"Is the one who's going with us like that? What's his name?"

Chaos smiled wryly. "I said your team requires someone clever, right? She's the current chief of the intelligence department. And she's like a mini Ananke."

Percy scratched his head, nervous. "I have a bad feeling about this. It's a hunch, but I think we're not going to get along well. She's the brainiac type, too…Hold on, you said Vivian's the former chief of the intelligence department. So this Ananke Successor replaced her? Why?"

"They're friends. And I guess you've come to know Vivian better already, correct? Vivian was the best in the department, so she got the title. But she knew her friend really wanted to be the chief. That friend of hers kind of tries to compete with her on everything. Vivian didn't give her position to the girl, since she knew her friend would be mad. So she quit the intelligence department, saying she didn't want to do the work anymore, so that her friend, who was the second best, could be the chief," Chaos explained.

"Wow, she's so nice."

"But her friend didn't like it. She wanted to win the position by her own capabilities, fair and square. So she was very, very mad at Vivian. And because Vivian left the department, her best work mate wasn't there anymore. She had to work alone. I don't know exactly what happened, but she never forgave Vivian ever since, and their friendship was destroyed. They're like strangers now."

"What? Isn't that friend a little unreasonable? Vivian quit the department for her sake! And…Wait, you said they're going on the same mission?" Percy made a squeaking sound.

The Protogenos gave him a dry smile. "So you figured it out now? You have to rein them in when they start ruining the mission, Perce. Sigh, they used to be the best of friends, you know…"

"Can't you send another Ananke Successor? Why does it have to be her?"

"Because the mission requires someone who can read memories. In the army, there are only two who can actually do that. The first one is Vivian, and the other one…Do you remember what Rayner told you?"

Percy tried to dig his memories. When they were in the Identification room, standing in front of the Ananke statue, Rayner said…What did he say?

'…_Ananke, the Protogena of inevitability, compulsion and necessity. Her Successors are capable of making people obedient, interrogating and foretelling future. Ananke is the mother of the Fates, so her Successors can foretell future, too. And the General of the Ananke House, well, she is advanced, she can absorb and delete memories.'_

"The General of the Ananke House can absorb and delete memories…" Percy said. He saw Chaos smile at him, and he realized. "Hey! That means the one who's going with us is—"

"Yes. The current chief of the intelligence department and the General of the Ananke House, Rosamund Vanderveer."

**To be continued**

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><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> A long chapter, everyone! And I updated fast, in my opinion. I suddenly wanted to write when I was painting my nails. (Just so you know, I'm a girl) I don't get why a lot of you guys mistook me for a guy, haha. If anybody thinks Rosamund is not important, reconsider it. *winks* So…Who's in for a love triangle?

**P.S.** Poor Vivian and Chaos. Please R&R to help lift their spirits up, guys!


	18. You Know Whom She Resembles

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter17: **You Know Whom She Resembles

* * *

><p><strong>Announcement<strong>

I've written another special chapter. I'm not sure if you want to read, but it's about _Vivian's past life_. This explains all her skills and lineage. Spoilers:

_As dizzy as I was, an alarm flared up in my head. I struggled to move away. _I need to run_, my inner consciousness told me. I didn't know whether this guy was friend or foe, so I didn't dare risk my luck. But my body wouldn't budge, and everything I saw was blurred._

_The guy placed his hand on my head. I flinched. Was he…going to kill me?_

_I bit my lip, certain that he meant me harm._

_Instead, his warm hand patted my head. Instantly, all my tension in the last hours of killing and running and hiding myself melted away. I relaxed._

_The man whispered, his voice soft like a lullaby, "Don't worry anymore. You are now in the care of Erebus."_

_And with his soothing words ringing in my ears, I finally closed my eyes._

I've tried using DocX connection, and I found out it didn't work quite well. So this time I'll send you the link to where I posted the chapter via PM.

**The following reviews will receive the special chapter (Please tell me your email if you're not logged in):**

**325, 330, 335, 340, 345, 350**

I've finished it so I'll send it to you as soon as I see the last review. Look forward to it!

* * *

><p><strong>17<strong>

**You Know Whom She Resembles**

It didn't go well, as Percy had expected.

"Why are you late, Percy Jackson?" A certain silver-haired girl asked, crossing her arms and looking sharply at Percy. Rosamund Vanderveer was standing there. Her pearly white skin and long silver hair gleamed in the sunlight. Her gray eyes were intense as she looked at him.

"I'm late? But it's just…two minutes past seven!" he protested.

"Just two minutes?" she narrowed her eyes. "Is that the kind of excuse a ruler should be giving?"

"I had to attend a meeting with the aristocrats."

Rosamund opened her mouth, about to bash him with another complaint, but then his savior spoke up. "It's okay. At least he wasn't twenty minutes late like last time."

Clearly, Vivian wasn't taking his side.

The Ananke Successor paused. Her gray eyes darted to Vivian and averted to the ground. She mumbled, "Hmph." And then stormed off to her white Bentley.

Percy scratched his head. "She isn't going with us?"

Vivian glanced at the girl. "I'll make sure she is. Wait a minute."

Then she walked to her. It took exactly one minute. After that, the three of them; Vivian, Percy, the sour-faced Rosamund, boarded his car.

"Which planet are we going?" Percy asked.

"CGP-1458" Vivian answered.

"Doesn't it have a proper name?"

"You really don't know anything, do you?" the silver-haired girl asked from the back seat. "Only planets that have rulers can have a name. CGP-1458 is just a small planet with just forests, mountains and seas. The few inhabitants are scattered in the forests. And that's probably why the inventor chose this planet as his nest, other than it having all the ingredients he needed."

He nodded. At the back of his mind, he was feeling something nostalgic. Gradually, it was welling up in his chest. _So similar…_ "Um, Rosamund, do you, perhaps, like buildings or…architecture?"

She knitted her eyebrows. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

"No. I like books, logic, chess and strategies…that's all."

"Is that so." Percy sighed, a bit relieved. They all went quiet after that. It seemed they were all deep in their thoughts. Vivian was looking at the map and pointing the direction. Percy was driving. Rosamund was pretending to be asleep. He knew, because he saw her staring at Vivian from the rear view mirror.

CGP-1458 was a beautiful planet. It almost looked like Earth from millions of years ago—when mankind hadn't arrived yet. Everywhere was green. Percy parked his car near a lake.

"There are no criminals here," Vivian stated, checking the criminal ID detector. She brought out another device and added, "Jaiden just gave this to me. It locates all the ingredients. I downloaded the map of this planet a while ago. When we put these two together, it should be easier to find the inventor's lab."

Rosamund brought out her own device from her pocket and put it near Vivian's. She shook it and blue light appeared on its monitor. Percy looked at it curiously. It appeared that she had copied all the information from Vivian's devices to her own. Then the girl turned and walked off quietly.

"Wait. Where are you going?" he asked.

"Get to work."

"Can you wait a bit? We haven't determined where we'll look first yet."

She shrugged. "That's unnecessary. You two stick together. I'll go on my own."

Percy furrowed his brows. "Come on. We're a team, right? We should work together."

Rosamund ignored him. Then, the Erebus General looked up from her devices and said in a cold voice, "Listen to your superior, Rosa."

She halted, but didn't turn back. "Don't call me that. Only my House mates and workmates in the intel department can use that name." Her voice was very cold.

"Your behavior is causing us problems. Professionals always ignore personal matters and take care of their work first. Right, Percy?"

"Eh? Er…yeah."

Rosamund turned around to face her former friend. "What personal matters? There's none. And I wasn't causing problems. This is a matter of finding the goddamn lab. If we separate, that means more chance of finding it, _no?_" She looked at Percy. He didn't know why she had to make her _no?_ sound so forceful, though.

"Uh, yeah."

"As the chief of the intelligence department, I thought you would be more thoughtful. At most, there can only be a few places where the lab should be located. It's not hard to find the lab when all the information's provided. We know it must be near where he can get all the ingredients. We know it must be hidden from people's eye. We can find it with no sweat. After we've found it, we can plan our strategy together. If we separate, we'll just waste time reuniting. Right, Percy?"

"Well, yeah."

"We won't waste time reuniting. The one who finds the lab first calls the other two and tells them where the lab is. Or if he/she is sure no one's there, that someone can just go in without the others. And the rest can just follow. This way it'll be a lot easier, no?"

"Um, yeah."

"That's very rash and scatterbrained. You don't know if there are any traps waiting inside or anyone monitoring you. And you don't have a proper plan A, plan B and plan C. If something goes wrong, you'll be doomed alone. Or worse, get caught and become an experimental subject. If the inventor catches you, he'll become more cautious. And that will make the mission harder for us. Right, Percy?"

"Yeah."

"That's easy. If the first one gets caught, the others will know what awaits them inside. They won't make the same mistake. Moreover, if we go in all at once, when we get caught, we'll have to struggle by ourselves 'cause no one can help us. But if there's someone acting as the bait, taking the inventor's attention, the rest can go in unnoticed and complete the mission, no?"

"Uh, yeah." Percy found himself tired saying only 'yeah'. In fact, they didn't have to drag him into their heated debate. He tried to understand their plans, but then they talked too fast. So he decided to think they were talking in another language—Athena language. Just think, he was standing in the middle of the chiefs of the intelligence department's argument. How lucky was that?

"Oh, so you're saying you'll become that bait? How chivalrous of you. Well, that's easier indeed. But know that when we destroy his lab, we won't have time to rescue you. Because when the inventor realizes his lab's destroyed, there's a high chance he'll call the agency. The criminals might even be positioned in this planet, who knows? So then we won't be able to help you because we have to run for our lives first. You'll be left there, alone, with the guilt of helping us destroy their important weapon against the army. This time you won't just be experimented on, you'll surely be tortured. Are you sure you want that?"

"I know that already! I won't be caught. I'm Ananke's General. If the bait isn't caught, then my plan is better than hers, right?" Rosamund looked at Percy expectantly.

His mouth felt like lead. "Uh, well, you're right…" a triumphant smile appeared on her rosy lips. "But there's no guarantee you aren't going to get caught. So it's best if we go together like Vivian said."

She glared daggers at him. "You're not being fair. You're taking her side because you're her friend. I didn't like you at first, because you did nothing but you still became our leader. And now I dislike you more than then, because you're on her side. Forget it. I'll go alone. Don't call for my help!" She turned her face upwards and quickly stormed off.

"Hey! Wait, Rosamund!" Percy shouted and was about to chase after her, but Vivian grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"Just leave her be."

"Hey, but going alone like that..."

"We'll follow her, but not now," the General girl explained. "We'll track her. But we won't get near her in ten-mile radius. Rosamund can sense anything from behind in that radius."

"What? Does she have back-binoculars?"

"No. Successors can sense anything from behind, too. But only as far as their eyesight can see. Generals, when using enhanced eyesight, can extend their seeing to about fifteen miles, but can sense something from behind at the distance of five miles. That's Rosamund's own skill and training."

"Wow, she's great. Did she do the training on her own?"

"No. Her clan taught her. It's one of the basic skills her clan members must be taught."

"Her clan is special?"

"…Everyone knows the Vanderveers. You lived in Earth so you were the only exception. It's not my place to say something like this, because she doesn't like people talking about it both in front of and behind her back."

"Is her clan that famous? Are they aristocrats?"

Vivian went quiet. Then, she answered in a small voice. "They're assassins."

"R-really?"

"They're renowned over the universe. When you want someone to disappear, you hire them. The price depends on how difficult the task is. It's convenient, because they're pros and your secret will be kept. They were said to be heartless and greedy. They've been feared for as long as their planet existed. But not many years ago, the entire clan was wiped out. Actually, they killed one another. No one knows why they did that, except for Rosamund, the only survivor at the age of eleven."

"Oh…" was all Percy could say. "So…she's great at fighting because she was trained by pro assassins?"

"Yes. But she specializes in, you know, assassination."

"Figured."

"She should be far enough. Let's follow her. You know how to use enhanced eyesight?" Vivian asked, gathering her stuff.

"You have to concentrate your Successor power at your eyes, right?"

"That's right."

"If you don't do so you can't use it, which means normally we can see things like normal humans. So our range of sensing is the same?"

"Yeah. But you have to do your own training in that field. For example, I usually concentrate five percent of my power at my eyes, so I can always sense anything in a mile. It's something you'll have to adjust to." The General girl explained while walking.

"That will take quite a long time," Percy murmured. He glanced at Vivian and said quietly, "I know the thing between you two."

She didn't seem surprised. It's just that… Her midnight-blue eyes darted to him, as if to ask, 'What do you think about it?'

"Honestly, I don't think you should be blamed. You gave your own position to her but she got mad at you. Well, I know that might have hurt her pride but she shouldn't stay angry at you for this long, right?"

"You know whom she resembles—that's why you asked her if she liked architecture."

"…Well…"

"Undoubtedly, her fatal flaw is also hubris. I've really hurt her pride, as you said. And for her, pride is more important than life. Ananke makes sure all her Successors think that. And…I guess she's still mad."

"When you retired, did you still want to work in the department?"

"No. Well, working with Rosa's fun. But I don't like the work. I like going on missions rather than rotting in a circular room."

"Then it's settled. You know what? You two are so clever but you can be so dense sometimes. Rosamund clearly wants to make up with you. But I'm sure she doesn't want to be the first one to tell you that. If you want to get back together, Vivian, you have to go first."

"How do you know?"

"You know whom she resembles." Percy grinned. The General girl nodded in agreement. Percy concentrated power at his eyes and focused on that silver hair. He thought it was pretty and rare to see.

"I have a question. Is Rosamund always like that?" he asked.

"Like what?"

"Like she's on a period."

"Oh…That's because I'm here. She isn't like this on other missions. She's a very good co-worker, in fact."

"So that's why." He had thought so. There's no way one could be so moody all the time.

Then, he saw something off. It was when Rosamund had entered the dark part of the forest—where trees loomed in the sky, blocking the sunlight—that he noticed some figures hanging on their branches. Something gleamed and, with horror, he realized they were weapons.

"She's going to be ambushed," Vivian mumbled.

**To be continued**

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><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes: <strong>Loooong time no see, everyone! Been about two months. During that time a lot happened in my life. And I guess I should say Happy New Year to you. :) I can't thank you enough for reading my story and reviewing it. I'll start updating again soon. Please R&R!

**P.S.** I'm sorry for taking so long.


	19. Pervert

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary: **Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepts The Powerful Guy In Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life has already begun the day he says "Yes." to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happens.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter18: **Super-ultra Pervert

* * *

><p><strong>Announement<strong>

I've written another special chapter. I'm not sure if you want to read, but it's about Vivian's past life. This explains all her skills and lineage. Spoilers:

_Ah…That's right. I almost forgot. Today was my birthday._

_They were so free, so happy. They probably didn't know what was going on in the palace, since the only people allowed to go to my party were the aristocrats, who had been killed along with those who lived in that place._

_I continued walking on the foot path. I passed a famous clothes shop, whose brand I used to like so much. Now it was closed. I looked at the glass and saw my own reflection._

_A ragged girl stared back at me. She had ruined black hair. Her face was dirty with mud and blood. Her clothes were bloodstained and muddy and torn. The trail of her dress was jagged. Her skin was full of scratches and dried blood. All in all, she didn't look like her old self, not one bit. She didn't even look like a princess anymore._

_The only things that were left of princess Vivienne were those midnight-blue eyes and…_

_I touched the tiara on my head. After all that adventure, it was still stuck on my head. Well, partly because I had threaded my hair through it. I rubbed it on my clothes and it was as sparkling and beautiful as before. I looked at myself in the mirror again._

_Ah… I hadn't noticed until just now._

_True, my eyes were the same, but they weren't quite the same anymore. They were the same midnight-blue color, but they seemed to have lost their gleam. My eyes were now shady. And I was surprised when I looked at them. Had my eyes been this blank before? They were rid of any emotions, not even happiness or sadness._

_Nothing at all._

I've already sent the first group of reviewers the chapter.

The reviewers who will receive the special chapter:

**355th:** Percy James Fowl

**360****th****:** Cosmic Avatar

**365****th****:** Guest

**370****th****:** Death's Song

(Tell me if you want it or not. And also, if you're not logged in, your email address)

I've tried using DocX connection, and I found out it didn't work quite well. So this time I'll send you the link to where I posted the chapter via PM.

The following reviews will receive the special chapter (Please tell me your email if you're not logged in):

_Same as always. Any review which ends with 5 or 0._

I've finished it so I'll send it to you as soon as I see the last review. Look forward to it!

* * *

><p><strong>18<strong>

**Super-ultra Pervert**

Rosamund knew it was coming.

In fact, she had been waiting for _them_ to make the first move. It was so easy detecting them. For a member of an assassin clan like her, their disguise was pretty pathetic, since she had noticed them right away. Still, she was a strategist and she knew just the right thing to do to benefit the most.

The enemies were scattered around her; four were perched on nearby trees, two hidden behind the trunks and another two further away. She had to lure them out into the open—all of them—so she could finish every one of them without letting anyone escape from her grasp. And she had a plan.

*swoosh*

When a poisoned needle was sent flying at her neck, Rosamund disappeared with it in one swift movement. She reappeared again behind the shooter, who was hiding in a bush. Wasting no time and making no sound, the former assassin stuck the needle into his neck. The man shuddered, his eyes bloodshot and bulging, then went limp in her arms. The girl put him down on the ground and peeked between the leaves. Her gray eyes gleamed in the shadows, like a predator looking for prey.

Rosamund took off the dead man's robe and overlaid it on her own silver cloak. She slowly came out of the bush and raised her hand. A few seconds later, seven other hooded figures came out from their hiding places and showed their faces.

"Where'd that girl go?" a high-pitched female voice asked.

"She may yet have gone somewhere else. You shouldn't have come out, Bart," a tall man whispered. Under the robe, Rosamund moved her hands to grip the hilts of her daggers.

"But there's no sign of any living thing in this area other than us. She's gone. Where?" the same female sighed.

"Here," the General girl let out a cold hiss. Just as she said it, she threw a smoking bomb into the midst of the group.

"A trap! Ru—Argh!" the assassin tried to warn his comrades amidst the black smoke. Too late, his throat was slit open from behind before he could move. The smoking bomb was specially made by the Thesis House. Aside from instant smoking, the color was pitch black and its range was vast. To top it off, the smoke can remain for an hour. Nobody other than an individual who possesses a specially trained set of eyes can find their way through this curtain of black smoke.

The preys who have experienced the same thing often see only a quick, undetectable movement that seems to pass from place to place in less than a second as they're left to cower in fear of the darkness and their isolation. The only things they hear are their comrades' screams and the sound of them falling to the ground, one by one. Then, as the hunter approaches, only a pair of sharp and intimidating gray eyes can be seen. And that's the last thing they ever see as the presence reaches their unprotected backs. Not that anyone has ever lived to tell the tale, though.

_One down. Two. Three._

The high-pitched-voiced girl counted fearfully as she ran around in desperation. She didn't know which way she was going, nor could she see anything, but she wouldn't stay still to be slaughtered when this clearly was the enemy's specialty.

She didn't know what was going on. They were just doing what they usually do every day. She, along with the other seven, had been told to kill anyone who trespasses into the factory's area. The others should have listened to her when she told them there was something off with that silver cloak.

"Ahhh!"

_Four down. Shit. Bart's gone too. That leaves three of us… _

Thud! Thud!

What was that sound she heard? It seemed awfully like a body falling to the ground. No. Wait. There were _two_ identical sounds. That means…

"Gotcha," someone purred softly into her ear. It sent chills down her spine. _She's here._

"Please, spare me." The woman begged as she put her hands up in surrender.

"Hmph." Rosamund sneered. She took off the robe and rummaged something in her silver cloak. The General girl then threw a white tube to the ground. Instantly, white gas was shot out and the black smoke cleared away.

"Turn around and sit." The younger girl ordered.

The captive sat down obediently, too scared to think. Rosamund then placed a hand on her forehead and said, "What do you know about the inventor? Is there any factory around here? Or is there more than one plant?"

"I was just hired to kill trespassers in this area. I don't know anything else."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Let's see if that's all you know, then."

She pressed her hand harder onto the woman's forehead. The older female watched as the girl's gray eyes glowed. She felt a presence invading her head, then all turned white and her previous memories were flashed before her very eyes.

* * *

><p>"Phew. For a moment there I really thought she was in trouble. But that was great. She's better than I thought." Percy sighed as they walked towards their companion.<p>

Vivian nodded. "As I said, there's no way she can be killed when she knows all that's going on around her. She told me once that assassins in her clan are trained to be aware of the surroundings even in their sleep. She's always active, except…"

"Hmm? Except?"

She pointed at Rosamund. "When she's doing that."

Percy looked. The General girl had her hand on the captive and was standing still, eyes strangely ablaze. He frowned. "Hey…Is she being possessed or something?"

"No. That's Ananke's ability: extracting memories. Now Rosamund's inside that woman's head, trying to get information on the inventor. But when she does this, she becomes absolutely vulnerable. She's too focused on the memories to notice what's going on around her. Basically she's inside someone else's head and can't protect herself."

"Oh. So if someone were to attack her now, she'd die without even knowing about it?" He gulped.

"That's right. Let's hurry. There being hired assassins here confirms two things: One, someone must be hiding something important here and they don't want anyone to know about it, so they have assassins kill all the people who trespass here; innocent or not. That someone and something might be the inventor and his anti-Successor gas factory. Two, there are more people around here. There may even be more assassins. If they start to notice these guys' disappearance and send another group out, Rosamund, in this state, is in danger. We're running." She finished talking and marched up ahead.

Percy thought it felt weird. He hadn't run for quite a while; he had a car and he could jump, and it was faster than running that way. But because they were traveling across a big field—there were no trees until the entrance of the jungle that Rosamund was at—all he could do was run. Now he suspected it was because he had become a Successor, but it felt so good knowing he could run so fast everything else was a blur. And he wasn't tired yet. He was even breathing normally.

_This is awesome_, he thought.

The Chaos Successor still didn't know the reason why, but he was more worried about the Ananke General than he had thought. Her Annabeth-like gray eyes weren't the reason. Okay, it was part of it, but that wasn't all. Rosamund was ill-tempered, selfish, arrogant, conceited, moody, narrow-minded (Percy: Now that I think about it, what exactly is her good trait?), and, if he considered Chaos' story, quite bratty. Despite all of that, he didn't seem to dislike her at all. The same goes for Vivian. She seemed to know her true personality. Well, at least Rosamund was dutiful and reliable. And pretty.

_She's like Annabeth sometimes. More horrible, though._

"Percy," Vivian called him meaningfully. He nodded and sped up. Fourteen people were heading towards Rosamund and the deceased assassins on a truck—and they were armed.

"Shit." Percy cursed. "They have a sniper with them!"

"Leave it to me," Vivian said. She raised her hand and he knew she was going to use that shadow thing again. As he had expected, the truck's shadow became alive and changed its form. It was sharpened into many slender cords that tied themselves around the driver and the sniper. Another minute and he was watching the car crash down to the ground.

"There are survivors. Percy, you bring her out of there. I'll deal with them." The General girl rushed out as she gave another flick of her hand. The Chaos Successor pursed his lips when he saw people emerged from the wreckage of the truck on motorcycles. _These motorbikes must have the same engine as our cars_, he thought. _Which means they'll outrun me. No choice then._

He reached deep within himself, traveling to the gate of his powers and unlocked it. Percy welcomed the familiar tingling and painful sensation in his tummy as he pointed his forefinger at his feet. He felt himself becoming lighter as his body got lifted up from the ground. He concentrated another force under his feet, intensified it, then released it in one go.

*fwoosh*

Okay, thank God that worked. Percy wasn't sure about the air pressure thingy, but he managed to shoot himself forward into the air like a bomb with that anyway. He flicked his hand and squashed some middle-aged bloodthirsty old man—he could swear the geezer had that look in his eyes as he approached Rosamund with a dagger in his hand—and swooped down to grab her waist as he cushioned their fall.

*thud*

"Ow…" he mumbled. He heard the sound of fighting and strangled cries just a little to his right, but luckily no one came this way.

"Ewww, eww. What's with this woman!" Suddenly the body he was holding on top of himself moved. Rosamund had regained consciousness—or rather, returned to her body. Percy wasn't sure what she was talking about, though he knew she wasn't going to like their current position.

"How lewd! What a salacious woman! I'm ashamed to have seen that kind of memories. Yuck! Disgusting! Ouch! My breasts hurt!"—Apparently Percy held her too tightly and her breasts didn't feel very comfortable against his muscular chest—"Wait. I'm not standing anymore…"

Then, gray eyes fluttered opened and met with sea-green ones. They blinked. And the next moment—

*slap*

"You pervert!"

"Ow! Why'd you hit me? I saved you, you know!" Percy protested as he rubbed his cheek pitifully.

"You—You hugged me! Really tight! You super-ultra pervert!" Rosamund barked, her face beet red. He had never seen someone turn as red as that before. Maybe it's because of her milky white skin.

"If I hadn't done that, you'd have been skewered, standing there! Another group of assassins came when you were still defenseless and I had to take you out of there. Be a little more grateful, dammit!"

She seemed surprised by that. "H—Hmph! I didn't ask for your help. Don't expect me to say thank you." Rosamund mumbled, pouting and crossing her arms. "A—Anyway, get off me already, you pervert!"

"_Me_? _I'm_ the one who should be saying that, considering you're sitting on top of me and all, missy," Percy grumbled. She looked down and realization hit her face. The General girl glared at him and briskly jumped off him. She cleared her throat and pretended to wipe her clothes, even though there was no dust on it, since he was the one who got all of them—soil, leaves, dust, you name it—cushioning their fall.

"Ow…You're quite heavy," he muttered, standing up and wiping his butt.

"What! I am _not_ heavy, you pervert. It's because of my cloak." She glared at him some more.

"You are. I bet those things hanging off your chest are quite a heavy load. Cup C, huh?" Percy gestured at her chest. He wasn't usually like this. But he was a little irritated at her giving him a new nickname—pervert. He just couldn't help being sarcastic about it.

Rosamund's jaw dropped. Her arms instinctively went to cover her breasts. "Y—You! How dare you! Percy Jackson, y—you perverted pedophile. You deserve to go to hell, you despicable lustful pervert!" She stuttered, her face even redder than before.

The General guy shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm not interested. So, what about that woman's memories? Did you find out anything about the inventor at all?"

Although still a little grumpy, she answered. "The factory's in the middle of this forest, twenty miles north from here. Apparently the plant just finished building a couple of days ago. Now they're transporting all the ingredients in there. Luckily the production hasn't started yet."

"Now should be the time to destroy it then. Let's go back to our cars and drive there. Oh, hey, Vivian. You alright?" Percy asked when he noticed Vivian walking to them.

"We shouldn't get our cars. I just read some guy's memories from the new group. I found out he's a criminal, too. But he was dispatched for this mission of protecting the plant, and his criminal ID is withheld until the completion of this mission."

"So that means there might be more criminals as we get nearer to the plant." Rosamund concluded. Then she mumbled to herself, "Tch. How come she got all the useful information. Me? I got to see some lustful woman having sex with hairy old apes! Ewww."

Percy, who was standing beside her, clearly heard all of it. He chuckled. She turned to glare at him fiercely, "What are you laughing at?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

"And there's another factory. It's in planet CGY-5269, that's where Jayden's team is heading. That factory has less security because it's still in the middle of building. After we've destroyed both plants, I guess we're back to zero; we still have no trace of the inventor. But the good point is that they won't be producing anything soon. We'll just have to send some Successors to monitor here, in case they come back for the ingredients," Vivian explained.

"But we still can't be sure whether the inventor's here or not. This plant is about to be opened, you know," Percy suggested. "Whether he's here supervising the production of the gas, or he's in one of the agency's hideouts, inventing more Successor-killer things."

"That's also possible." Vivian agreed. "But let's just complete the mission for the meantime. As Rosamund said, there might be more criminals as we get closer to the plant, even ranked ones, so we should move carefully. We'll go by foot. I made sure no signal was sent to the factory, so let's take a little break before we go there. After that, we'll travel twenty miles on trees, no breaks."

Rosamund just stared blankly at Vivian. The raven-haired girl gave her the same look. Then, the Ananke General broke her gaze and went to quietly sit under a tree. Percy glanced at the Erebus General and tapped her arm.

"Hey, isn't this a good time to make up?"

She shook her head. "She's not in a very good mood. I wonder why."

He scratched his head. "Well…It was me. Seems like I've pissed her off. I'll go talk to her, and then you take the chance?"

"It's all right. Now's not the time. I'll talk to her after the mission's completed. After all, we have to put the mission before our personal matters. I'll go scout around here for a bit. Take this chance to rest. You just used your power, right? Does it still hurt?"

He smiled and waved it off. "Nah, my stomach doesn't hurt anymore. I guess it's just as you said, this thing needs getting used to. Be careful, then."

She nodded and walked away. Percy went to Rosamund and sat down beside her. She narrowed her eyes at him, "What do you want, pervert?"

The Chaos General sighed. "Sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry for hugging you earlier—even though I didn't have any intention of doing it—and for offending you."

Her eyes widened, and she averted her eyes. "Hmph. It's not like I'll forgive you even if you act all nice and apologize, you know. Here." She tossed him a bottle of water. When he raised an eyebrow, she quickly said, "I—I'm just letting you borrow my water. Be grateful, you pervert."

Percy looked at her pink ears and grinned. "What if I keep it?"

"That's up to you." She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "But that's for saving me earlier. I won't thank you even if I'm grateful."

He laughed. "You just said it."

She seemed to realize this, and quickly denied it. "I didn't say grateful, I said I'm great, that's all!"

"It's okay to lie to others, but at least you should be honest to yourself. Especially about your feelings," Percy said, drinking the water.

"What do you mean?"

"A person who lies to even himself has an unhealthy mind. You shouldn't deny your own feelings and desires just for your ego. And sometimes, you have to trust others, too. Or else you'll end up feeling lonely and insecure, you know?"

She looked at him and bit her lip. "…There's this girl. She liked this friend of hers very much, because their pasts and interests are similar."

The General guy smiled and asked, "What are their names?"

"Err…Miss R and Miss V. Don't interrupt!"

He chuckled. _So obvious…_, he thought. "Okay, sorry. Please continue."

"Miss V never told her about her past, but Miss R kind of knew they had suffered the same ordeal. Betrayal, war, massacre, killing, loneliness. They all reflected in her eyes, even if other people say they're rid of any emotion, but Miss R could just tell. She thought they resembled each other. But she was wrong. Miss V was superior to her in almost everything—intellect, fighting ability, popularity, even leadership. Miss R respected Miss V from her heart, but from time to time, the ugly emotion called envy invaded her heart. Not only that, because of her capabilities, Miss V was getting farther and farther away, and Miss R feared she would be out of reach someday. So she worked hard, day and night, in order to catch up and be able to stand side by side with her best friend. She realized that the emotion she once called envy was actually jealousy. She was just so afraid that someone else would snatch Miss V away from her."

"Is Miss R a lesbian or something? I feel like I've watched a movie like this before…Yep, it's quite similar to The Roommate, the way she acts around her friend…"

Rosamund rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, Miss R finally caught up to Miss V after some time. They worked together in a team. But Miss V was promoted to the position of chief. Miss R felt their gap widening again. As chief, Miss V had many friends who admired her and wanted to hang out with her. Miss R felt alone when she went to eat lunch with others. She knew it was impossible, but she wanted there to be two chiefs, so that she could be equal with Vi—Ahem, I mean, Miss V. But if Miss V was not chief, things would be better. So she opposed Miss V's position as chief and proposed herself. She hadn't thought about that before, but it was there all along; the desire to surpass Miss V and make her look up to her like Miss R had always done. But it all went wrong. Miss V quit the team with some excuse. Miss R knew it was because she wanted her to be chief instead. She got really furious then. Her pride was hurt beyond repair, but what hurt the most was Miss V's consideration towards her. All she had been thinking about was chasing after Miss V and finally surpassing her, and assuming that Miss V didn't care about her as much Miss R did for her. But it was the opposite. She had always cared about Miss R but she had never noticed. Because she was greedy and too ambitious. Miss R was beyond ashamed of her dirty thoughts, she kept asking herself, "What the heck have I been doing? How could I think like that towards her?" but there was no answer. She wanted to apologize, but her head felt dizzy, and the next thing she heard was, "I don't want to be friends with you anymore"…And that's it. That's the moment things had gone completely unfixable. Time passed, and Miss R still regretted it. But every time they see each other, those two questions would pop up in her head, and she would sadly accept that she doesn't deserve to be Miss V's friend."

Percy glanced at her, and saw that Rosamund was looking in the direction Vivian went off, her gray eyes misty and sad. He heaved another sigh. _Really, these two are so alike, assuming things on their own…_

"Anything can be fixed if you try hard enough. There's no saying that everyone can't make any mistakes. And don't just think things by yourself. You have a mouth, so go ask her. I'm sure she would be more than pleased to know how you feel towards her. Vivian wants to make up with you," Percy advised.

"Really? But…Hey! I'm not saying it's about me and Vivian!" She scowled, her face pink.

"Is that so? Sorry then." Percy smirked. "My advice is to be more honest towards yourself and other people, too. It won't hurt to tell the truth. These words are important, too: Thank you and Sorry. Although actions prove your true intentions, words are a powerful messenger, as well. Well, I'll stop sticking my nose into your business, since this is all an outsider can help, anyway." Percy shrugged, standing up.

"…You said it so easily."

"Hm?" Percy looked down to see her staring at him with some kind of awe.

"You apologized to me, even though I was the wrong one, since if you hadn't helped me, I would have died. But you still apologized anyway. Why?"

He smiled. "My mom always told me to be nice towards girls, and, well, I didn't want you to stay angry at me. If you weren't going to be mad anymore by only saying sorry, then I was more than glad to say it. It's not that difficult, right?"

She looked down. At the same time Vivian jumped down from a tree and told them to get going.

"Okay, we have to get there before dusk. Everyone be careful, there might be enemies along the way. There will be no talking, if anything, use hand signs. Let's go," Percy said and they all jumped.

**To be continued**

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><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Long time no see (again), guys. It's been four months. Wahh, I'm so sorry. I have no excuse. But it's just that I was stuck. Seriously stuck. Anyone who has written a story would understand the feeling of 'completely stuck'. What should I write? That won't do. That's not what I planned at all. These sentences have been going around my head, really. And I couldn't find any motivation, too. (I'm the type who only does stuff well when she's motivated, dunno if you guys are the same or not) But, well, suddenly I got many ideas in my head. And after driving myself to write five hours straight, I finally finished this chapter. I can't promise I won't be stuck anymore on other chapters either. Sigh. Being me is troublesome. (Actually I was irritated that Naruto was on a break last week so I got the motivation to write…What's up with my habit anyway? LOL)

About this chapter, well, I wanted to deliver something to you. Rosamund is a lot like me. And her situation was based on my own story. I and my cousin, who lives in the same house as me, are very close, even though we're of opposite sex. We're the same age and both a single child, so we've been each other's only friend since we were babies. Of course, there are many quarrels between us. But we've always made up. But our last quarrel was different. It started on something pretty stupid like always (something about my ping-pong bat) but then I was angry and couldn't stop myself, and I accidentally said something harsh. He was mad, of course. And I felt guilty, but was paralyzed. I couldn't move my mouth, really, I'm not lying, it felt like that at the time. Days passed, and I still couldn't find the courage to apologize. I kept waiting for him to say sorry first, and then I'll say it, even though I was the wrong one. I admit, I was spoiled. But since he had always been the one to approach me first, I thought this time would be the same. But not at all. Weeks passed and we still didn't talk to each other, even though we're in the same house. Heck, when we passed each other in the hallway, I didn't even dare _look_ at him. But I said to myself, it's okay. He'll say sorry and things will eventually be the same. Or maybe one day I'll apologize to him first.

Four years have passed, and we still haven't talked to each other. (grade 7 to 11) Since we parted around the time puberty kicked in, we've both changed a lot. His voice changed. He's now taller than me. I almost didn't recognize him when I got the rare chance to peek at him. We're like complete strangers now. We haven't seen each other in a long time. Even though we live in the same house, it's like he's in the north part and I'm in the south part, completely separated. In a few months, I'll be moving to the states. I'll probably stay there for a year. I've promised myself that when I come back, I'll apologize to him. Still, I know things won't go back to the way they were. We lost quite a lot of time, after all. All I know about him now is which episodes of Ultraman and Kamen Rider X he used to like, and what a glutton he was when we were children. He might've changed to a completely different person, and I still wouldn't know.

So, I'd like to warn you. Whether it's with your family, your friends or your lover you've done something you didn't mean to, forget about your ego and just apologize. Don't let it become a regret for the rest of your life. It's probably not my place to say this, since I haven't found the guts to fix my own situation, but at least I don't want you to end up like me. Why? You read my story and enjoy it, some even review, you might not know it, but I'm very happy when I know that you like my story. We're just writer and readers, and I don't even know you, but at least I call it a bond. You make me happy when you read my story, and that's why I care for you. It's as simple as that, I guess. I've probably said this many times, but thank you. Thank you for reading my story and staying with me till this chapter. I swear I won't drop it.

**P.S.** I've talked too much! :O Look forward to next chapter. Oh, forgot. Like it? Hate it? Please R&R!


	20. Here Goes

**Genre:** Romance/Adventure

**Rated:** T

**Summary:** Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepted the Powerful Guy in Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life had already begun the day he said 'yes' to the guy!

**Setting:** 3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happened.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter19:** Here Goes

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><p><strong>Announcement<strong>

The reviewers who will receive my Vivian's special chapter are the following

375th: Guest (no email)

380th: The Nutty Squirrel

385th: Dusk-R

390th: OfAllPeople

395th: prince of the seas

400th: weirdguy26

405th: ChaosVoid1772

410th: A PJO HOO fan (no email)

415th: Guest (no email)

420th: Tinycheer

I will send the link to these reviewers who have reachable addresses.

Some of you tried to post your email addresses, and it didn't work. I suggest you just put your name and the host, with a conjunction in between. For example, I am reviewing and I put down **"kimjoysu and hotmail"** Just that would be fine.

Or, better, I suggest you make an account. It's free and easy. And you can PM me, and I can PM you, if there's something wrong or you just wanna talk to me.

Next chapter, guess who'll receive the special chap? :)

* * *

><p><strong>19<strong>

**Here Goes**

They marched in complete silence, leaping from tree to tree with inhuman speed and leave-Hermes-demigods-in-awe stealth, all the while trying to expand their vision as far as they could. Rosamund, who was the best lookout—because of her past training—seemed to be knitting her eyebrows. Even from afar, just reading her expression, Percy could tell that she didn't like this. Although as far as his special eyes could tell, there was absolutely no movement in ten miles ahead, and to the left and right.

After a while Rosamund signaled for a halt. They all jumped down to the ground and crouched down behind a big boulder. Then she began in a low voice, "I have a feeling something's wrong."

Vivian studied her. "Your expression tells it all. I can't sense anything abnormal at all, though."

"Me neither. What could be wrong?" Even as he said this, the back of his neck tingled. He didn't know what it was, but his instincts told him things weren't going to go as smoothly as they had hoped. "Okay. Now it seems like something's up for sure, I admit. I feel like we're the deer walking into a trap," Percy added dryly.

"You could be right," the Erebus General mused. "Everything from the last point has been going too smoothly. No more scouts, no more ambushes. My guess is they've already found out about intruders, since it's been some time now that unit was blown away. Maybe they were expected to come back fast, considering their combat skills…"

"You bet they have." Rosamund sighed. "Look, my instincts are equal to any animal's, maybe even surpass them. And the good news is the alarms won't stop ringing in my head."

"In conclusion, we pay extra attention and be extremely careful, or else we might end up fighting all of the security guards there, and worse, any possibility of the inventor still being there—if he's there at all—will be gone the moment the fight breaks out," Percy concluded. "So what's our plan again? Destroy the factory and wait to see who runs out, because one of them could be the inventor? And after that capture all of them?"

"Yes. Now we should just keep going. I'm sure we can handle enemy ambushes well enough," Vivian closed the discussion as she jumped back to one of the tree branches. The two remainders followed her quietly, their hands at the ready to pull out their weapons at anytime.

They proceeded with caution, the tension building up even more as they got closer to the location of the factory. Rosamund had taken the lead, as she had the best vision. All things were in complete silence until…

"Below!" Vivian screamed. "Dodge to the side!"

Rosamund's body reacted to her warning immediately, so did Percy's. He swerved to the side, and as he did so, he felt something swoop past his left arm, barely any inches. It was a jagged blade, the size of his leg. He gulped. His eyes darted around, trying to grasp the current situation. There were about thirty men, all covered with mud and dirt. He realized—as he noticed big holes on the ground—that they had actually dug their way up from underground to ambush them. And that was just about the only right thing to do against Successors, since their vision couldn't reach underground. Whether it was just coincidence or their knowledge of this ability—or even their bad luck—Percy couldn't care less now. He just had to look once, and he already understood that all these men were seasoned fighters; They knew battle well and they had definitely won a lot. Now he was looking at the owner of that jagged blade that almost cut him, a big guy with brown mustache and hair pretty much all over his body, sizing the man up. The hairy ape—Percy decided to give him a name—was trying to keep up with Vivian's movements. Her twin half-gun-half-blades swung around in a fluid movement, their owner pulling this off effortlessly and elegantly, as if she was dancing. Percy stared.

"What are you doing, spacing out? Do you wanna die? Hey!" Rosamund called out to him, already engaged in a fight, her silver sword moving in bright flashes under the dark shade of the forest. The Chaos General coughed and broke his eyesight away from _her_ fight. Apparently the way her hair flew when she turned just really caught his eye, for no particular reason either.

Percy chose the right moment and dropped down on top of one of the men coming up behind Rosamund's back, the tip of his blade plunging down the man's right shoulder. "Say what you want, but now you owe me."

She fumed. "I had already noticed that, like, a gazillion years ago, and he was also my next target too. You just stole my game, Shish Kebab Pervert!"

"Whatever. I'll just—wait, what was that? Shish Kebab Pervert?" Percy frowned as he fended off another opponent, this one a little tougher than the other.

Rosamund merely grunted. "I heard you killed that monster for your trial. Everyone's so excited about it. _Percy's so awesome, he's so great, he got Shish Kebab's helmet from his trial, blah blah blah._" She spoke in a high-pitched voice as in mockery.

"Hey, don't come up with weird names—especially if you're gonna use them on me. Oh, by the way, it's Senior Shish Kebab, not just any normal noobies, you know."

"_It's Senior Shish Kebab, blah blah._ You know what, what-e-verrr. I don't care anyway." She stuck her tongue out at him, at the same time warding off a blow from the enemy with her slim sword.

Percy chuckled. "Um-hm. Someone's jealous."

"I am _not_ jealous of you!" She barked.

"I wasn't suggesting that, but well, since you just admitted it, I guess I—"

"Guys, be a little more serious, won't you?" A sharp voice from Vivian cut them off. Rosamund grumbled something like, _don't tell me what to do._ And Percy just shrugged. But then he noticed that Vivian was having a harder time fighting her opponent than usual. The guy she was fighting was big and very buff, that's all he could tell, as his body was covered from head to toe by a helmet and black clothing. Although Vivian was both firing her bullets and cutting him with her weapon, only the fabric was torn apart—which revealed the gleaming metal that was supposed to be his skin.

His jaw dropped. _A-A cyborg! A real-life cyborg!_

He turned to Rosamund, who was having an intense spar with a tall, slim man, and asked, "Hey, what's up with that guy? He's a cyborg!"

She looked at all the corpses lying on the ground, examining them briefly, and concluded, "These guys are branded criminals. They actually belong to the agency, but which unit, I'm not sure. I guess the guys we just finished off were rankless." She looked at Percy's blank look and sighed. "Meaning, they had just entered the agency and I think, were still in training. They hadn't met the standards yet, so they were dispatched here to work under someone with bigger influence."

Percy pointed at the black guy. "So you mean that dude is a ranked criminal? He's in the rank?"

"Oi! Don't frigging ignore me!" The middle-aged guy he was fighting protested. They ignored him.

She nodded grimly. "A pretty good one at that. At least in the top hundred. No, top fifty, otherwise he couldn't have gotten permission to get the surgery to turn himself into a cyborg. But this is really weird. If he's in a really important rank, at least he should carry his ID around. That's his key into the agency." Just as she said that, Percy heard heavy footsteps. He dodged the blow from the guy and swung Riptide upwards, killing him. He whipped his head to the direction where the sound came from. Tall figures were running towards this place.

Their reinforcements had come.

"This is the last group, I think. They wouldn't have anybody else working here," Rosamund said.

Percy didn't really hear her. There was that little gap between the fat, big trees about twenty feet away, and the figures were pouring in from it. He looked more closely, and realized that beyond the gap was a clearing. The factory must be hidden there!

A plan suddenly formed up in his mind. He tried to get closer to Rosamund amidst the criminals, slashing his way through with difficulty, since all of them were not inexperienced in combat. When he got close enough, Percy told her his idea. "Listen, I just saw the factory. You can't see it because of the trees, but it's a little more than 20 feet away. And if we keep fighting here, obviously we'll never get there. So here's what we do: you and I push them to the edge of the forest. And when we see the plant, I'll leave all these bad boys to you and blow it up somehow. I think we can leave Vivian for a while and then come back to help her. You sure she'll be okay, right? I mean, she's the toughest warrior I've ever seen so far—"

"Hold on. How are you going to destroy the factory if you don't use the bomb anyway? And the bomb's with Vivian, which means that you have to help her defeat that guy first."

"No, I don't actually. And the bomb will take a while to be set up, and these guys will try to get in the way for sure. Just trust me okay? I can do this… Well, if you don't trust me, no one else does, because, to be honest, I don't really trust myself either," Percy finished with a dry smile. Then he rolled to the other side when a bearded guy hurled a javelin at him.

The Ananke General rolled her eyes while yanking her blade out of her opponent's throat. "Fine. Do whatever you want. If your plan fails, we'll proceed with mine."

He nodded in consent. Then the two Generals started guiding the enemies towards their desired location, aiming on moving rather than killing. A few minutes passed, and they broke out through the gap to a clearing. As Percy had seen, the plant stood in the middle, looking grey and grim under the influence of the dark forest. The building was plain enough, with grey bricks forming up a wide, three-story high factory. The door remained shut, guarded by two huge men on either side. Their eyes widened as soon as they spotted the two Successors. One of the guys' hand went to a small red button near the entrance. Needless to say, Percy just got that nothing good on his side was going to happen if the guard pressed it.

At that moment, he disarmed his opponent, grabbed the spear, and threw it at the guard.

The guy fell. Fortunately he hadn't pressed the button.

Percy swerved past another criminal, picked up a fallen enemy's dagger on the way, and threw it towards the other guard's head, preventing him from completing his late comrade's unfinished task. He shouted to Rosamund, cutting across the clearing where there were fewer opponents towards the plant, "I'll leave them all to you!"

…_Because I'm pretty sure once I use my powers, I'll be pretty much a little bit more useful than, well, useless. I don't think I can even stand up properly,_ Percy thought.

He took a deep breath and concentrated on his stomach, reaching for the door to his powers. This time it was easier to pull out his powers, since they had just been used a little while ago. He deleted the gravity pulling him towards the center of the Earth, raising his hands to keep the balance while his body took off from the ground.

Percy positioned himself ten feet above the dead center of the plant's roof. And…

_What next?_ He asked himself, revealing a grim smile. _Man, if Rosamund knew I have no frigging idea how to do this she would totally be like…Ugh. I don't even want to imagine how her glare will kill me._

He contemplated what Chaos had told him.

'The power will come in handy when you want to destroy things…(with a wink)'

_F that_, he thought, facepalming. _It's goddamned useful. Thank you for nothing, you stupid Protogenos!_ He groaned. But then he remembered something else… A sweet voice ringing in the cold wind of the night, its owner trying to cheer him up in her own clumsy way (by confusing him with science, perhaps?).

'Normally, air pressure is exerted on our bodies from all directions, as long as the planet we're in has air. But if you add air molecules in certain places, for example, above the object, the pressure will be increased and the thing will be crushed…'

The Successor exhaled slowly. He looked at his left palm and decided to try what he had best. He turned the hand so the palm was facing the roof and willed the air molecules around him to move according to his thoughts. At this moment, while he was floating in the middle of the air with nothing attached to his feet, he felt one with it.

His body tensed up with concentration while he sensed the air molecules begin assembling in a ball that seemed to expand rapidly. When he thought the ball was big enough, he attempted to compress it with his right hand, by bringing the two hands together. With a huge effort, of course. He gritted his teeth as it was harder than he had thought, and his belly was _not_ helping. It churned and seemed to burn with non-existent flames.

Finally, the big invisible air ball became a visible one, its color dull grey. It could even fit in his hand. Right now he was holding it, his fingers tightening around the ball. In a moment he would release his fist and see and it went. No. I had to be now. He had used his powers to the point of exhaustion, and if he wasted anymore time, he would lose control of the gravity and plunge down to the roof.

The Chaos General sighed, "Here goes."

* * *

><p>General Vivian was annoyed with herself.<p>

She had been fighting this criminal for the past ten minutes, and nothing seemed to happen any time soon since neither of them refused to even get injured by each other. She was completely stuck with this guy, and she couldn't go help her friends fight that large group of criminals. For her, this was completely unacceptable, and a failure. And it was really getting on her nerves right now.

In fact, Vivian was wrong to be so hard on herself. She knew it in her mind that her opponent was the renowned Metal Blood, a famous ranked criminal from unit 17. He was ranked the 42nd. But she ignored it anyway.

Not only that, Metal Blood got his name from his body, which had been transformed from head to toe since he had joined the agency, not even one part of his body was flesh, as it was rumored. It wouldn't be so frustrating if the metal that made up most of his body were to be normal, since her special bullets could create holes in it as easily as going through cake. But it seemed that his metal flesh was reinforced with another layer of rare coating. She didn't know what type of coating it was nor did she know how it worked. She just knew that all her attacks were bounced off by his bodily suit of armor, and he was too slow to hurt her. His only strong point was defense. And his weapon was his grip or his embrace, which could break bones as easily as she could snap a branch.

Despite this terrifying fact, she convinced herself, _There's no way that a Successor trained by Erebus himself would lose to this scrap of metal. Think, Vivian, think harder._

Normally in order for one to be able to breathe, their heart must beat. Then how can the heart, which moves all the time, be made of metal? The muscles might be coated with only some light layer of protection, and it would be the most vulnerable part of his body—the same goes with his organs. But who cares about the insides? Since the skin that was supposed to protect all of those was invulnerable.

His arms shot out to hold her into a grasp, and she jumped back. He threw a boulder at her, and she dodged sideways. This would go on and on, and his opponent would get exhausted. When their movements became slower, that would be his chance to crush them. That must be how he earned his rank. He had limitless energy and a giant body, which gave him the opportunity to attract the agency's eye. And so they decided to turn him into what he was now.

Vivian had had a glimpse of what was under his helmet though its glass. He had a mouth. Well, _duh_, he had a mouth. But this very fact might lead to her victory. She crouched down as another boulder flew past her and reached into her cloak to grab two different sets of bullets. One was red, and one was green. She inserted the red one into her left gun, and the green one into her right. And then she fired.

The first few bullets hit his arms, which he had brought up to protect himself. She heard his ugly laugh, which was mostly muffled by his helmet. Then, while he was still holding his arms against his face, expecting the same attacks, she jumped over his head. She twisted in midair, aimed the left gun at his helmet, and fired.

Two bullets hit it, and the specially-made disintegrating flames ran around the helmet, completely evaporating it in seconds. By the time the criminal noticed what had happened, his real face had been exposed. As expected, his face was also the silver color of metal. Moreover, there were a special type of sunglasses attached to his skin. Any hopes of defeating him by jabbing the eyes were none.

As the guy recovered from his shock, he opened his mouth big and laughed. His laugh thundered though the thick forest. "Wahahahaha! You thought you could kill me by blasting my brains off, huh! Is that what it was? Hahaha! Foolish girl! I know your name, and I have heard of your reputation, General of Erebus! You are said to be the most brilliant and calm, but what I've seen today proves otherwise! Now what will you do, eh? Now that you've realized I am invincible, what can you do! Hahaha—"

_Keep laughing_, Vivian thought as she took aim with her right gun. Then three bullets were shot into his open mouth.

"Urgh!" He swallowed it unintentionally, since the bullets had gone into his mouth while he was laughing. He blinked. His face started to turn red with anger. "What the hell did you do, girl! Whatever you do, it won't work, I tell you, it won't—Arghhh!"

Suddenly his face contorted with pain. He hugged his chest and stomach, as if those two parts were causing him pain. Brown liquid poured out of his mouth without stopping. It was his blood. The metal had changed the color of it into something that smelled of zinc and slightly iron. He writhed on the ground, as if tortured by something invisible.

Vivian took out the green set of bullets from her gun and read the label to the dying man. "These bullets contain specially mixed acidic elements, gathered from the all of the most poisonous plants ever recorded throughout the universe. One bullet instantly disintegrates anything that comes into contact." She looked up and said to him, "Well, since the metal in your throat was too strong, the bullets probably bounced off it until they fell into your stomach, and maybe before that one of them touched your lungs, or even your heart…I'm telling you this so you know the cause of your death."

The Erebus General witnessed the last moments of Metal Blood, a criminal ranked 42nd in the criminal agency. She did not avert her eyes from his hateful, bloodshot glare even once. She searched his clothes and found his criminal ID, but this one different from the others. And then she walked away when his eyes became glazed, and he died.

Several of the IDs she found from the corpses lying along the path were also the same as his. The usual criminal IDs were black, written in white letters. These IDs were white, written in black, but with the same information. She made a note to herself to talk to Jayden when she came back to the army.

Vivian finally reached the edge of the forest. She walked into the clearing. There she saw her friend Rosamund and the criminals. Surprisingly, they were not fighting. They were all staring at something in the sky. She looked.

It was him.

Percy was standing in midair, holding his hand down towards the factory, his eyes glowing with white lights dancing in the sea-green whirlpools. She had seen his eyes shine like that once, when he came to her rescue during the last mission. She noticed a little air ball, barely visible, under his left palm.

She noticed at once that the Chaos General was in pain. It didn't show from his expression, but she could tell from the way his body tensed. Percy could release it in any minute now, but why didn't he? Was he having a problem in doing so? The criminals were starting to climb the walls of the factory, having noticed something wrong. She hesitated, then called out in a small voice that she thought he wouldn't hear, "Percy…"

Unbelievably, he seemed to be snapped out of a trance and then turned to look at her. For a moment their eyes met. She saw relief in those green eyes, but then his gaze turned back to the factory.

He narrowed his eyes, and the air ball shot out from his palm. As it hit the top of the roof, it expanded into waves of heavily compressed air pressure…

KABOOOOOOM!

**To be continued**

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><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> What's up, guys! I know you probably want to kick me for taking such a long time for this chapter. But I've been busy the past few months. Good news: I'm in DC now. And I'll be here till July. Bad news: I've been so busy I haven't read HoH yet! Even though I bought it two months ago, LOL. I guess I made this chapter long as an apology. So…apology accepted? Like it, hate it, please R&R!

**P.S.** As a Christmas gift to everyone, whoever reviews gets Vivian's special chap from me! :) (Of course, this tests if you guys read my A/N or not. If not, I'm not sad, but too bad! Lol) And thanks, those of you who reviewed about my cousin and tried to cheer me up! I already wrote down my apology on a post-it paper and stuck it to my parting gift to him. (Not much, but still a progress.) I'm in the States and I'll see him next year. And I hope we'll talk. Thank you guys so much!


	21. The Inventor

**Genre:** Romance/Adventure

**Rated:** T

**Summary:** Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepted the Powerful Guy in Black's offer to go to this place called 'The City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life had already begun the day he said 'yes' to the guy!

**Setting:** 3 months after The Last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happened.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter20:** The Inventor

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><p><strong>Announcement<strong>

The following users, **who left a review for chapter 20**, will receive my special chapter

(Note that they must have an account, or the address must be reachable)

ThatNerdyAsian, MrsWinter, Unknown54645457655745454443, expa, EpicReads, , Minato12, Crazyboy35, Darkus Inferno, gonelikeme, Blond Dude 42, thedarkbeat, Harbinger of Order, Sacchin, Lmb111514, bilboardcrabs, huntergo123, Personas, vampireharry the 2, Goddammitman, Mayhaah, CP Nightshade, PercabethandTwihard, redsage1122, Aaeolus, prince of the seas

Next chapter things will be the same. Any review that ends up with **0 or 5** will receive my special chapter.

I consider this as a **special Christmas gift**—aside from this chapter, which is for everyone—for those who cared to review and/or read my author's note.

Thanks for your enthusiasm, guys!

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><p><strong>20<strong>

**The Inventor**

Percy had no idea how it happened, but it did anyway.

He had been about to release the air ball from his palm when a set of images struck him. They came into his mind suddenly, unexpectedly. And they were terrible. He saw himself standing alone at the edge of a big gap that used to be a bridge, grieving for Michael Yew; he saw the Princess Andromeda blow up before his eyes, his friend Charles Beckendorf stuck in there; he saw the burnt face of Silena Beauregard as she lay on the ground, dying; he saw Ethan Nakamura's painful face as he told him his last wish, disappearing into the hole on the ground; he saw Luke Castellan's face as he made him promise to change the way the gods treated their demigod children, his expression sad and regretful; he saw himself killing hundreds of soldiers in the Xerxes planet, not even knowing who they were, just killing to survive; he saw the faces of the criminals he had just killed, their corpses lying in heaps beside him; and a lot more bloody scenes he had witnessed…

Percy wanted to scream and run away. But he couldn't.

It was as if he was trapped inside his own mind, forced to watch these scenes over and over. He wished he could scream for help, but his body was frozen with fear—and guilt. How many people had died by his hands? How many people had he killed? How many times had he failed to protect them?

_You are a failure. You do not deserve to be in this place_, a voice spoke to him in his mind. He could not recognize who it was. It sounded ancient and powerful. And when it spoke, the images flashed before his eyes even faster.

_No. Stop. Don't do this_, he told the voice. He meant it to be a shout, but it came out as a quivering whisper, powerless and insignificant. The voice boomed even more.

_You are incompetent. You could not keep your promises. You are a liar, Perseus Jackson. You do not deserve to wield this great power!_ It thundered.

_Stop! I get it already! Please just stop, stop, STOP! Someone help me!_ Percy writhed in his mind, screaming in agony. He wondered when this torture would end. Maybe later, or maybe never. The images clogged his mind. The only thing he knew was that he was going to lose his sanity soon if this continued. _HELP!_

"Percy…" Someone called in a small voice, but he could hear it, even from afar. Who was it? Someone with a really sweet voice, the voice of a singer.

He remembered he liked that voice.

He remembered the voice giving him lecture. He remembered its owner cheering him up when he felt down…

He remembered those midnight-blue eyes, which he thought were one of the most beautiful gems he had ever seen. He remembered her long black hair flowing in the wind. He remembered her emotionless, yet pretty, face.

_Vivian._

Immediately, his eyes snapped open and he whipped his head around to find her. And there she was, standing near the edge of the forest, looking at him with those exact same pair of eyes he was thinking about. Her face remained the same, but from being with her so much in the past week, he could detect concern in her eyes.

And she would not be able to imagine how relieved he felt when he saw her there. At least she helped him shake off those images and get back on his feet.

He calmed his nerves, and pushed off the ball. It descended to the roof of the plant, came into contact, and suddenly exploded in waves of air pressure that totally crushed the whole building.

KABOOOOOOOOM!

Despite himself, Percy grinned. "Mission accomplished."

Then he released the power he was using to stop the gravitational force acting upon him, and plunged down to the rubble. He twisted in midair and landed softly on one of the pieces of the broken roof, then slithered down to lean on it with exhaustion, breathing heavily. His hand went to his tummy, which felt like it was melting. He closed his eyes, trying to fight off the pain and tiredness.

His eyes burst open when he heard the sound of fighting. Vivian and Rosamund were back to battling the criminals again. They didn't seem to be sweating fighting the underdogs at all, so he could excuse his useless state.

_Ah…I'm so tired. My eyes are so heavy_, he thought. _Maybe just a little would be fine. Just a little…Let me rest._

With that thought, the Chaos General drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>"You're in denial, Rosa. Don't lie. I know you were impressed by the extent of his powers and his skills, not to mention his personality. You're just acting mean towards him because you don't want to admit that you respect him to a certain level—"<p>

"That's—That's not it, Vivian! I do _not_ respect that Shish Kebab Pervert! He is just an arrogant rookie who knows nothing about combat!"

"You know you look at your feet when you're lying. And let me guess, what you just said was the opposite of what you were thinking—"

"I was _not_ lying!"

_So noisy…_ That was his first thought when he came to. He heard two voices, one sweet and calm, the other loud and stuttering. He wondered who they were.

"You're not meeting my eyes."

"Jeez, Vivian! Just when we finally made up, why are we talking about that Shish Kebab Pervert when we should be talking about me and you?"

_Oh…Shish Kebab Pervert, huh? Now I remember. There's only one person who calls me that in the universe. _The Successor thought as he inwardly sighed. What a fancy name. Far worse than Seaweed Brain. Should he feel honored?

Just then he noticed that his head must be laid on a pillow. It felt so soft and warm. And…he sniffed. It smelled really fragrant. The smell gave off a feeling of mystery mixed with sweetness. He liked the scent. He stole other two breezes of the smell and spoke with his eyes closed.

"It's Senior Shish Kebab, for your information," Percy corrected. Then he opened his eyes to see Rosamund jump with surprise. And he looked up to see midnight-blue orbs in a really close range.

"How are you feeling, Percy?" Vivian inquired, looking down to see his bewildered face.

Now Percy realized why the pillow had felt warm and smelled so good. Silly him, where would the two girls find a comfy pillow in the middle of nowhere like this? His head was in fact resting on Vivian's lap!

He bolted upright, his ears bright red. He gestured at her lap. "Err, why was I…you know…"

Instead it was Rosamund who answered. "Because you were out cold by the time we finished them off. So Vivian was considerate enough to clear the wreckage around you and find you a comfortable place to rest."

The Erebus General nodded. "I thought the pain in your stomach would subside if you were in a comfortable position. But we didn't want to put your head on a hard rock, so I volunteered. Did you sleep well?"

Percy didn't reply. He couldn't meet her eyes. He felt _so_ embarrassed he could feel his face burning. The only one who had ever offered their lap for him to sleep on was Annabeth, and she was his girlfriend. He didn't know much about Vivian's culture, or even where she came from. So he wasn't sure if this was considered just a friendly thing for her or not. But for him it sure was _not_. Only couples did that as far as he knew. Maybe in a park or on a sofa or whatever, he didn't care. He had slept on her lap. Not to mention, he _sniffed_ her. Three times!

A pebble hit his head. Rosamund was the one who had thrown it. "Ow! What was that for?"

She was pouting, her face pink—with anger or something else, he wasn't sure. "Why the heck are you blushing? You're having impure thoughts, right? You really are a pervert, Shish Kebab Pervert!"

Percy shut his mouth, as she wasn't completely wrong. Vivian looked back and forth between the two in wonder. Obviously someone emotionally detached and lacking in common sense like her didn't quite understand what was going on. But her hand went up and touched the spot where he had been hit and rubbed it softly, as if trying to comfort him. "It's not bleeding, but it's bruised. Does it hurt?"

The Chaos General stiffened at her touch. He shook his head and stood up, coughing.

"A-Anyway, now the mission's completed. Can we go back and write a report now?"

Vivian rose, answering his question. "There are a few things we need to check before we do that. First let's clear the rubble and find out what's left. There might be some clues leading to where the inventor is."

"Well…Do you guys want me to lift all of these with my power? I guess I could do that—if I don't end up dead in the end, that is."

Rosamund shrugged, her lips twisting into a smile. "Good idea. I like that. Please overdo it."

"There's no need for that. You have done enough to help us, and we appreciate it. Thank you for offering, though." The Erebus General raised her hand up as she finished the sentence. He watched as their three shadows stretched into long, slim branches. The black branches wrapped themselves around the broken pieces of bricks and roof, and started whirling them into the woods.

"Nice," Percy whistled.

After a while all the debris was cleared. The three Generals started investigating all that remained. Now the machines had broken down, they could gather all the pieces together and figure out how they worked. They saw boxes containing all the ingredients, tucked into one corner of the factory. Miraculously, they hadn't gotten completely crushed by the roof.

"We should bring these plants back. I heard they're rare."

"Yes. And maybe Wilhelmina and Jayden can invent some antidote for this anti-Successor gas," Vivian agreed. She took out little plastic bags from her cloak and stuffed them inside.

"Hey, come here, you two." The Ananke General called, gesturing at a hole on the ground. The other two Generals walked towards the far end of the room where she was standing, and crouched down to take a good look.

Through the puncture, they saw a well-polished wooden hall of another floor—the basement. It was a dimly-lit narrow passage, large enough for only two people two pass through. The Successors looked at one another. Percy was the first one to speak.

"So…Anyone wants to go downstairs with me?"

"You scared of the dark, Shish?" The silver-haired girl raised an eyebrow, smirking.

The Chaos General smacked his head. "Don't shorten the term, dammit! It sounds so frigging much worse. Look, I'm fine with you calling me Shish Kebab Pervert, but—"

She snapped her fingers, flashing a smile at him for the first time—though it was an amused one. "Then that's settled! So you like the name, huh? You could have just told me so, don't have to hide it!"

_She actually looks very pretty when she smiles. A shame everything she does is frown_, he thought.

It was Vivian again who brought them back to the mission at hand. "Cut it out, you guys. Okay, so we're going down one by one, quietly. I'll go first." Then she stepped into the hole.

Rosamund and Percy followed. Being down here, they noticed old oil lamps hung on the wall every few meters. The lamps were old and neglected, as many of them had run out of oil and weren't lit, making the passageway darker. The ceiling was only inches above Percy's head. The walls were just as tattered, their color jaded. Only the wood floor seemed to be new.

"This way." Rosamund waved at them and went on ahead. Percy looked at her back skeptically.

"Might I remind you, she's from a family of assassins. She's been trained more than any of us in this field. No matter how complex the place is or how dark it is, she always finds her way out," Vivian explained.

"She's surprisingly useful." Percy shrugged. They followed Rosamund for what seemed like ten minutes in the dim light. It was a good thing Successors could see well in the darkness, otherwise he would have more or less freaked out by now. The place just gave off this really creepy feel. He didn't know what awaited them, but already he was having goose bumps.

Moments later they came across a mahogany door. The Successors made eye contact. When an understanding passed between them, the decision was made. Knock first. Perhaps if there was anyone inside, he might answer, thinking it was one of the criminals lying as heaps of dead meat above—that way at least the enemy would give himself away and they could just assault them when they came to open the door. With that decision made, Percy knocked.

Silence.

He looked at the girls. They nodded. He was about to knock again when the door just creaked open slowly on its own. The three Generals jumped back, their hands reaching for weapons, their expressions wild.

Nothing came out. Just a breeze of cold air, probably from the AC. After a moment of tense stillness, Rosamund made a hand sign for them to go in, mouthing 'No movement at all in the room.'

Of course they trusted her and stepped in willingly. The room was wide and spacious, despite its low ceiling. Shelves lined up along the walls, crammed with glass vials containing multi-colored liquids and jars with peculiar substances inside. Tucked into one corner of the room was a wooden desk filled with documents, wide-open textbooks and notebooks. Another corner had a little fridge, and right near it were blue curtains. He was sure there was a door behind those curtains. At the center of the room, tables were arranged messily. Some were in a row, some were placed together, some were upside down, some were alone—all of this just to accommodate all the huge pieces of equipment on them. These scientific experimental tools just looked so bizarre and otherworldly, or that was just the opinion of an Earthian. He had no idea if the two girls had seen these before or not.

He turned to ask them, but the two Generals had such grim expressions on. He raised his eyebrows, curious. "What's the matter?"

Rosamund sighed and walked to the desk. She picked up some of the documents and showed them to him. "You notice something in these?"

Percy shook his head slowly. "…No?"

"You're slow. Then how about this?" She brandished the cover of one of the notebooks at him.

"Oh, is that what you're trying to tell me? The emblem?"

"That's right." Vivian replied. She walked to the shelves and turned some of the vials around so he could see the printed symbol on each of them—Funny he hadn't noticed it at all before. The emblem they saw in many of the things in the room had the shape of a tree. It looked really similar to an oak tree, except its leaves were white and it had gold cone-shaped fruits.

"You know what the symbol represents?" He asked.

"Well…Sort of… Everyone does, to be frank. Oh, forgot. You're a country boy." Rosamund shrugged.

He ignored her remark and turned to Vivian instead. The Erebus General said nothing, and when she finally spoke, her voice dropped low. "It's the Hainsworth clan's family crest."

There was a pause. "Uh-huh. That sounds kinda familiar?"

The Ananke General rolled her eyes. "You didn't really pay attention to our introductions, did you, Shish Kebab Pervert?"

Percy just stared at her blankly.

"That's Theodora's clan." It was Vivian who gave him the answer.

His jaw dropped. "You're kidding! How…What the heck? Then why is her relative helping the agency?"

"That's a good question, why?" A new voice joined their conversation out of the blue. It came from behind the curtains. Startled, they all whipped their heads in that direction, raising weapons at the newcomer.

A slim figure appeared behind the curtains. He seemed to have come out of another room. He was an average height, sickly pale, and looked so weak and fragile it was a surprise he could be standing on his feet at all. The man seemed to be in his late twenties. He had the same features Percy remembered the Chronus General had: completely white hair and black eyes. The man walked slowly to the desk and sat down.

From his resemblance to Theodora, Percy could instantly guess that he was the inventor, who was from her clan—and seemed to be on the enemy's side.

A sweat rolled down his neck. Even though three deadly weapons were aimed at him, the inventor looked totally relaxed. The guy smiled and began in a casual voice.

"So…Where should we start, Successors?"

**To be continued**

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><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes:<strong> Merry Christmas! I updated today as tomorrow is a special occasion. So…Needless to say, this is a Christmas gift to all my lovely readers who have supported this story even though I am such a cliffhanger jerk (according to what most of you say in your reviews) and I take so long to update. Well, sorry—and thank you very much. I hope this chapter satisfied your thirst for romance at least a little, Percivian shippers :) I will be out of town until next Tuesday, so don't expect any miracle like me updating early for New Year's occasion to happen. But who knows. I'm paranoid, right? :P

P.S. Enjoy your holidays, guys. Love y'all!


	22. Hainsworth

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary:** Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at Camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepted the Powerful-Guy-In-Black's offer to go to this place called 'the City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life had begun the day he said 'yes' to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after the last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happened.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter21: **Hainsworth

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><p><strong>Announcements<strong>

The reviewers who will receive my special chapter will be **posted next chapter** along with the new ones, and I'll send the chapter to all of you at once. Deal? (Please, I'm so tired… I'm sorry.)

And the game is still on! Every reviewer whose number ends up in **0 or 5** gets the reward. (I'm pretty sure it's not a game, just not sure what to call it)

**By the way,**

I'm gonna make some changes in the previous chapters when I have time. Basically, I'm gonna rewrite some parts which I think still have some loopholes or not easily understandable. Or, as I'm better at English now, I'm gonna perfect the writing, okay?

You good with that? Let's hope so :)

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><p><strong>21<strong>

**Hainsworth**

"So…where should we start, Successors?"

"How about I cut you up in pieces?" Rosamund growled, and in that instant, she disappeared from where she stood—then reappeared right where the Inventor was, the tip of her blade touching his throat.

Despite that, the Inventor laughed cheerily. "Quite the impatient one, aren't you, Miss Assassin?"

"You…!" Rosamund's mouth twitched and she pushed the blade into his skin a little. A small amount of blood flowed down from the wound. Percy looked at Vivian, but the Erebus General didn't seem troubled. So he assumed Rosamund got it all in control.

"Tsk. Tsk. I know you can't kill me, Little Missy. I hold too many secrets for you to waste my life just like that."

The Successors frowned. What did the guy mean, secrets?

"Well, well, well. Those confused faces, how adorable! Do you really know nothing about my clan except for us being scholars?"

"According to our Intelligence Department, the Hainsworth clan comprises of researchers, philosophers, writers, teachers, historians, anything related to knowledge. Am I right?" Vivian answered coolly.

The Inventor burst out in laughter, clapping. "True, true! Oh, God knows why the former Head of the Department is better than this one. And to top it off this one belongs to the Ananke House! You Successors fascinate me. You and your silly _emotions._"

The three teenagers looked at each other in astonishment, until the first one who realized it broke the stunned silence. "Bastard! You, you planned this! You listened in on our conversations!" Rosamund changed her stance from jabbing to slicing. She put the sharp edge of the blade right up to Hainsworth's Adam's Apple. This time, Percy was sure she was serious.

"All of them, yes! Good god, finally you realized it! I thought I would have to tell you myself. Sigh, sometimes it's so hard being the only clever on in the room. 'Cause it's so amusingly frustrating to watch you fools stumble to come up with the right answers!"

"Rosa, don't! I'm sure he _will_ be useful." Vivian's voice stopped Rosamund from totally cutting the guy's neck clean. The silver-haired girl huffed, but obeyed her friend.

Finally Percy spoke up. "You've got it hard being a genius, huh?"

"Why, yes, of course!"

"What makes you think that? I'm sure you know I don't really know any celebrities here in the universe. Please, enlighten me, Mr. Genius."

He laughed. "I like you, Earthian. As I already told you, I have secrets. _We_ keep secrets. We're the researchers and historians of the universe, so obviously we have records. Records even _you_ Successors don't have. Surprised? Ha! I really want you to see your own stupid faces right now. Including that oh-so-genius Ananke!"

"That's not possible. The Protogenoi were the first who created those records, they were the beginning of the universe. Chaos was the first being in the universe. And he gave us all he knew, so you can't know more than us." Vivian pointed out the fact in a cold, clam voice.

"So? You knew first, then what? You think you know best about all of the universe, so you never have any doubts about the information you have? _Hey, look at me, Cosmos created me, then came others, the end!_ Is that it? Have you no desire to learn about this so called Cosmos you know so little about? Answer me, Successors." The Inventor smirked.

The room fell into silence again. Seeing as the two Heads of the Intelligence Dept. refused to say anything, Percy kind of guessed that was the truth. To make the situation a little less awkward, he came up with something. "So, what you're saying is, the records that you say you have and we don't are the information about the Cosmos. Only that?"

"Your _that_ in itself, boy, is everything. The research cost us so many lives, so many great minds, God! It was hard, but now it's almost done. We will make this—this whole _mess_ you Successors call order all better! The Universe is going to be a better place!"

Suddenly everything seemed to click for Percy. "So that's why you're with the agency? To help them destroy us, so you can revolutionize this place? Well, you said you lost a lot of people in your clan, right? I think you're only siding with them because they provide you supplies and researchers. And that make-the-universe-a-better-place crap is some excuse you come up with to make it look good. Admit it, you only want to satisfy your thirst for knowledge. Even though I used to live on Earth and don't know your history, I can tell you this type of people are everywhere. But let me warn you something, you may think you're using the agency, but the truth might be different. It's your clan that's being used."

The Inventor seemed surprised for the first time. It looked like he—and actually everybody in this room—was seeing him in a new light. He wondered, should he feel honored or pissed?

"Boy, I sure underestimated you! You are right! Every bit you said were the exact truth! Oh, except the last part. _We_ are the clever ones. We never get tricked by anyone. We're never used by anyone!"

"Well, if it's true, then that's good for you." Percy shrugged. "But if it's not, you know what's going to happen to you when they find no more use for you, right? Like, let's say you were to give them your records and that formula for the stupid Anti-Successor gas, what use would you be to them? They're warriors, and they already have everything they can get from you, _and_, more importantly, you guys are cunning and you're willing to sacrifice or betray anyone who disagrees with you, am I right? Then what makes you think they want to keep you?"

The Inventor stared at him, his face taut. At this point the other two Successors were beginning to understand what he was trying to accomplish. Rosamund hid her smile and lowered her blade. Vivian, too, put away her guns. She gestured at him to continue saying something convincing. So he did as best he could.

"Well, what do you think? You know by now we don't want to kill you because we think you might know something good, like how to make an antidote, since you frigging invented this crap. And if you keep feeding us information, we'll keep you alive—locked, of course. But you can still continue your research in a cell. I think at least it's better than death, you agree? But if you go back to them, and they know you've already given us one of those records, they won't let you and your clan live."

Hainsworth immediately shot a glare at him. "You…How dare you try to blackmail me?"

"Blackmail? What? No. I'm not trying to blackmail you or anything. This is just a hypothetical question. I suppose you haven't given them all of your records yet, for safety's sake. But if they _were_ to be informed that we have your other records, and they don't know if this is true or not, do they want to risk keeping you, and the fact that you could be our spy, or just eliminate a little inside threat before it comes back to bite them?"

The Inventor gritted his teeth, but at last he smiled. "Well played, Chaos's kid…I didn't understand why he'd choose some clueless demigod who lived on Earth like you…Now I know."

Percy started to smile, and Rosamund didn't look as tense anymore. But Vivian still didn't completely trust the situation. It seemed too easy. That guy gave up too easy. It's safe to say she _knew_ the Hainsworths. In the past, the Hainsworths were hired to do many important things—such as drafting new bills and amendments, educating aristocrats, offering political and battle advice and selling information—for a lot of planets, including hers. She remembered one of them came to her planet and offered to be the King's political advisor. Luckily he refused, because he thought the guy seemed too power-hungry. The guy went back, and a year later he had become one of their planets' ally's advisor. That planet's king was so brainwashed by Hainsworth he didn't know what he was doing. Her King ended up winning in the war against that planet, but before they knew Hainsworth had escaped. It took years for her planet to finally capture and kill him.

That's why she knew it's too early to let down their guards. There must be something he kept as his trump card. _Think, Vivian, think_. Why did he let Rosamund approach him when he knew she could kill him? No…Why did he even appear before them in the first place when his soldiers had all been killed and left him defenseless?

Wait…Defenseless? Was he really?

She looked at him more closely now while her two friends continued the conversation. What had he done when he first came in? Did he hide any hand behind his back? No…She remembered his hands were out, and they were bare. Right…The first thing he did was walk to his desk. His desk, which was so messy and completely covered with documents.

He could hide some sort of weapon there. But…no. He seemed totally relaxed even when Rosamund pushed the blade against his throat. That weapon of his must be so quick it could defeat the one instant the blade would take to kill him. Or…it didn't have to be as quick, it just had to be…unnoticeable.

Unnoticeable? All she could think of that was invisible and toxic to Successors and harmless to him was…

"You cunning fox," she muttered. She knew what his trump card was and where he could access it. Percy, who stood beside her, turned to raise his eyebrow at her. She nodded to him. She hoped he understood that that was supposed to be 'Don't worry. I got it.'

"What's the matter, Miss Princess?" Hainsworth asked, his lips twisting into a crooked smile.

She glared at him. "Don't call me that. I am not a princess."

"Fine, fine. Fierce Little Missy. Well, I've decided about your proposition." He smiled and raised his forefinger—then waved it from side to side. "Seems really tempting, but I'd have to decline."

His grin became wider as that finger rushed down to the right armrest of his armchair, he laughed, "Later, noobs!"

"No, you're staying here." Vivian muttered as the shadow beneath his armchair stretched into long, slender black ropes and hooked into his finger, then broke it.

CRACK!

"Ahh! You bitch!" He screamed. Rosamund raised her sword, but the Erebus General shook her head. "Don't worry, Rosa. I got this."

More ropes sprouted from the shadow, only bigger this time. The black ropes tied themselves around the Inventor's body, over and over, until all you could see of his whole body were his eyes. They glared at her, expressing his hatred, as best they could.

Percy chuckled. "Whoa, Black Mummy, Sup dude! You're awesome!"

Rosamund sighed. "This whole place feels better without this bitch's voice…What're you glaring at me for, huh?"

"Have you heard any Yo Mama jokes?" Percy asked her.

She frowned. "What's that?"

"Well, it's some jokes we have on Earth. I'll tell you some on the way back. But I'm pretty sure you won't get them."

The Ananke General narrowed her eyes and asked indignantly, "Why not?"

"Because I'm also pretty sure you don't know any Earth terms except Disney."

"I know Hamburgers! Or…McDonald's! It's something you Earthians eat every day!"

Percy stifled his laugh, trying to keep his face straight. "Right. Good job remembering McDonald's."

Seeing his attitude, she fumed. "I hate you." Then she punched his shoulder and stomped her feet towards Vivian, who was busy looking through Hainsworth's documents.

"He's the worst," Rosamund complained, looking at the Chaos General, who was still trying not to laugh.

"I know you don't hate him. You two get along well," Vivian noted, pulling off drawers to check.

"What? Me, and that Shish Kebab Pervert? What a joke! There's no way. Besides, he seems a lot nicer when he's with you." Rosamund mumbled at the end.

Vivian stopped rummaging through the Inventor's stuff and took a long, hard look at her. The Ananke General raised her brows in question. Finally, Vivian began, "Are we talking normally now?"

Rosamund seemed to suddenly realize she was supposed to be cold and angry. She blushed and took a few steps away. "Don't…Don't think that just because I'm being nice to you, we can be friends again."

"Oh, COME ON!" They heard Percy shout from far away. He turned and apologized, smiling, while waving a jar of eyeballs up high, "Sorry, so _sorry_, this stupid jar won't _open up_."

Rosamund narrowed her eyes at him. _Was that supposed to be some kind of a message? So he's telling me to apologize first and this is the moment, huh…Wait, why do I have to listen to that perv? And he said…_stupid _jar. Is he saying that word on purpose? Is he calling me stupid?_

While Rosamund was debating with herself inside her head, Vivian looked over at Percy. She saw him pointing at Rosamund and mouth, 'She wants to say sorry.'

Vivian looked back at the flushed Rosamund. Her eyes kept darting from left to right she feared they might be popping out. At that moment, she instantly knew her friend could take hours before she could say it. She looked at Percy who was almost nodding his head off, and thought about his words.

'Rosamund clearly wants to make up with you, but I'm sure she doesn't want to be the first one to tell you that. If you want to get back together, Vivian, you have to go first.'

"I'm sorry, Rosa." She finally said it. Rosamund whipped her head up to see her in bewilderment. "I'm sorry for making decisions on my own without asking you if you'd like it. I'm sorry for hurting your pride. I'm sorry for leaving you to work alone in the department. Sorry for making you mad and hurting your feelings. Sorry for…for not being a good friend for the past few years."

When Rosamund still looked at her with her jaw dropped, she added, "Can I be friends with you again, please?"

"Oh, Vivian…" The silver-haired girl muttered. Then, suddenly, she ran to Vivian and engulfed her into a tearful hug. "Vivian! I'm sooooo sorry! *sob* I'm really, really sorry, too!"

"Rosa…?" Vivian was really surprise. She froze on the spot. She really didn't understand what was going on right now. She didn't understand why her friend was crying when she thought she had done the right thing. Wait…Did she do something wrong after all!?

She looked over at Percy, who was nodding, showing her his thumbs up. He mouthed, 'Don't worry, you did fine.'

"I'm so sorry for being mad at you. I knew you wanted me to be happy so you resigned, but…but I still got mad. *sob* It's like I was really stupid I couldn't do anything by myself and I always had to receive things from you. That made me feel so ashamed of myself and…I was so jealous of you, you know? All those years trying to compete with you, just to find out that I'd never be as good. And…I thought you pitied me so you gave me that position. I was so mad. *sob* But, then…It started to not really matter anymore. Since you were gone, everything became meaningless. I really wanted to go back to you and say sorry…But this stupid pride, this stupid ego of mine…I'm so sorry, Vivian. I missed you soooo much. *sob*"

"Calm—Calm down, Rosa. Please, oh god, please don't cry. I feel really uneasy when you cry." Vivian patted her back and tried to comfort her as much as she possibly could. But…She didn't know how to make people stop crying! She had never read books that taught how to make people stop crying! If Rosamund didn't stop crying soon, she would really start to panic.

"I'm sorry. Please, I want to be friends with you. Will you forgive me and be my best friend again?"

Vivian blinked, a little surprised. Still, she wasn't going to say no. "Of course."

Then, she got pulled into the tightest hug in the universe again. Rosamund buried her face on her shoulder and said mumbled something incoherent. Almost automatically, her hands came up to pat her crybaby friend's head gently.

She looked over at Percy again to see if he was still there.

The Chaos General was leaning on the door frame, raising his eyebrows at her, smiling broadly. He mouthed, 'Good for you, Vivian.'

At that moment, she knew she had never come this close. It had been so long, so long since the incident that rid everything—everyone she loved and every bit of happiness—away from her, but she was certain of it. It was at that exact moment, with Rosamund in her arms and Percy smiling at her (and the Inventor taped up in his chair)… that she had come closest to smiling.

That's right. Today, for the first time in eight years, Vivian Quella almost smiled for the first time.

**To be continued**

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><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes: <strong>What's up, guys! I know, I know, I'm late again. This time almost a year. I know, and I'm sorry. It's just I'm so busy these days, what's with being a Senior and skipping a whole Junior year after coming back from a year abroad as an exchange student and all. It's a hard life out there, bros. Anyway, I was so stressed with my studying so I took a break to meet with you guys inside this little imaginary world, whew! Tell you what, I've been too caught up in everything I haven't even read HOH. (Whatttt?) Well, I shouldn't talk too much. Okay, like it? Hate it? R&R! See you next chap, guys! Love y'all!

**P.S.** Hey, hey, forgot to thank you for not abandoning the Protogenoi! You know they and the Successors love you!

Anddd I didn't proofread it. Hope the typing's not too awful :(


	23. Chaos Is Awesommme!

**Genre: **Romance/Adventure

**Rated: **T

**Summary:** Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at Camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepted the Powerful-Guy-In-Black's offer to go to this place called 'the City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life had begun the day he said 'yes' to the guy!

**Setting: **3 months after the last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happened.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

**Chapter22: **Chaos Is Awesommme!

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><p><strong>Announcements<strong>

**First:** I'm going to rewrite the story at some point. I've been meaning to tell you this, but surprise! I couldn't. Guess why, stupid author wouldn't update her story : (

**Second:** Okay, so this chapter's the last chance to get an exclusive chance to peek into Vivian's past. **Any reviews for this chapter will get the special chap. Last chance.**

**Third:** The reviews have been piling up! I had to count a LOT to be able to come up with this list. I love you guys.

The following reviewers are going to get a link to the special chapter from me (This doesn't include anybody who already got it or users who didn't log in) :

Argh Means Love, Crystal93, princessofthenight17, noneofyourbusiness09, Mikeo, Deftex, Esdesesama, Dead necromancer, Assassin2107, AcidInfinity, ElephantsRuleTheWorld, huntergo123

**Last:** I guess you guys already noticed. But in case you haven't, don't expect any fast updates. I'm really sorry. Being a Senior is tough on everybody, though, don't you agree? But I'll try to update asap.

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><p><strong>22<strong>

**Chaos Is Awesommme!**

"I'm so glad we drugged this stupid Inventor. Or else we might have to deal with his crap the whole way back," Rosamund grumbled.

Vivian nodded in agreement as the four were on their way back to the Army, with her driving Percy's car. Actually, he should be the one driving since he was the owner of the car. But seeing as he had spent a huge amount of power and must have been really tired, Vivian offered to drive. As a result, the Chaos General now sat in the front passenger's seat, asleep. Rosamund, who had no choice but to sit with Hainsworth, didn't seem too pleased about the arrangement, but she had agreed anyway.

"What is he doing?" She asked, gesturing to Percy.

"He's asleep. Keep quiet. You'll wake him up, Rosa."

"…Fine," the Ananke General sighed. "In a deep sleep like that, wonder what kind of perverted dreams he's having."

"I don't see how Percy is perverted…Rosa, what did he ever do to make you excuse him so?"

"He touched my—my breasts!"

"By accident."

"And he watched you…"

"Hm? What's that? I didn't hear you."

"Never mind," Rosamund mumbled.

Vivian looked at the boy beside her and said, "Whatever dream he's having, it's not a good dream. He's frowning."

Her friend snorted. "Big surprise. Really, how many times do either of us—or any of the Successors—come across a sweet dream in a year? Unless you forget it all, the past keeps haunting you."

Vivian exhaled sharply. "Indeed. You're right."

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><p>'Just remember, Percy, your fate isn't to be here. You belong somewhere else. A camper of Camp Half-Blood isn't what you were destined to be…I've got to go. But this isn't the last time we meet. Let us meet again soon, Son of Poseidon.'<p>

Who would have thought that Chaos's _soon_ was the day later?

In his dream, Percy remembered sitting in the same place where he had met the Protogenos the day before—alone, of course. He wasn't really doing anything in particular, just something nice like thinking about how he got ignored again today by his fellow campers. Oh, right, and how that shitty Russell smirked at him while putting his arm around Annabeth's shoulders. Worse, she didn't seem to mind. She just seemed…dazed, and, well, blissful.

Yes, he was thinking about all that when that guy scared the crap out of him.

"Good morning!"

"Whoa!" Then, instinctively, he grabbed Riptide and swung it at him out of surprise. Luckily, the guy managed to dodge with some crazy superpower. He did it quite easily too, as if he was avoiding a big, fat mosquito coming right at him.

Percy gaped at him, and gave an indignant "Dude!"

"Oops, did I scare you? My bad, my bad," Chaos apologized, looking totally not guilty, with that huge grin on his face. Percy scowled and put his sword away.

"How come you're here?" He asked the guy, who settled himself down next to him.

"I came to see how you're holding up. So, how's it going? Good?" The Protogenos raised his brows.

That question! _Just_ the one question he wanted him to ask right now. He took a deep breath, then answered, "Yeah! Of course. I'm totally, perfectly fine! Why wouldn't I be?"

He wondered if his voice was a bit too high-pitched.

"Well, I don't know…Maybe the being ignored by everybody you care for part, the girlfriend fancying some other jerk part, or the father not answering your prayers part. What else? Oh, the mother bearing your future step-sibling part. Okay, which one?"

"Shut up," Percy mumbled. Those _parts_ of his stabbed him like needles. He had been feeling down enough these past few weeks, he didn't need some not-so-strange stranger pointing out to him how much of a loser he was.

Chaos's face softened. His voice also did. "Hey, I'm sorry for that. But you know it's the truth, right? So why do you keep putting it behind?"

Percy was silent. Ever since the guy had come here, it was like he had come to do the duty of his speaking mirror. He just…reflected Percy's mind right now. The guy continued on, "You know it's not going to stop even if you endure it. Right now, you're feeling so lonely you're letting some stranger talk to you like a friend. I _am_ the only one closest to being your friend now, am I right?"

The demigod was about to protest, but the Protogenos beat him to it. "Don't say something like 'I have friends, it's just that they're not with me right now.' Because you know your _friends_ are not treating you like one. Alright, they still think of you as one of them. But they won't talk to you, and it feels like sometimes they don't even know you exist. That's what's on your mind right now."

Percy kept his mouth shut and glared at the guy. Everything he said was right, but he didn't need him to say it out loud. He didn't need to _hear_ it, just thinking it was painful enough. If Percy was his usual self, he would be wary and a little freaked out right now, because it felt like the guy could read his mind and that was just…weird. And he would be wondering who this knows-it-all was. But he was too frustrated to think straight. He couldn't do anything because all this annoying guy had said was right, absolutely right. He just wanted to kick something or someone nearby—this guy, for example—to vent out his frustration. Still, he managed to hold himself.

And there was something the guy had missed, actually…

"You're scared, too, huh?"

"I said, shut up!" He shouted and got up on his feet. But Chaos's voice stopped him from going anywhere. "I won't say anything more. I just said all of it because I want you to go away from here—to take a break from all of this. That's all, honestly. Sorry if you're mad. And…really, if it's too much to bear, why stay? Go to a place where at least somebody thinks you're important, and they need you." Then he got up too, and started to walk away.

Percy tried not to, but he couldn't help it. He finally blurted out, "Why do you care? Who are you, anyway?"

He turned, and smiled. Percy didn't want to admit it, but that smile really made him feel better. Although he still didn't figure out why, but he knew the guy cared for him. Maybe because he wanted a recruit for his army or whatever so bad, but he couldn't care less. The only thing he knew was this shady guy whom he didn't know was sincere and nice to him. And for that guy, he was sort of important. And he needed that.

The guy was right. Right now, he needed to know that he was important to someone…anyone.

Chaos's smile faded, so did his body, leaving only his last sentence in the wind. "Go home, Percy."

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Percy packed and took a taxi home. His <em>other<em> home in the Upper East Side. He had called his mother and given her a heads-up beforehand. So, when he got to their apartment, he was surprised to see nobody there.

Good thing he remembered where the key was, otherwise he would have to wait outside. When he stepped into his home, he noticed a few new things that he hadn't seen before he had left for Camp just a few months ago. He dropped his bags on the couch and approached the unfamiliar…baby crib.

It looked small. And cute. There was already a set of pink bed sheets and pillows in it. Also, a bunch of stuffed animals. He picked the pillow up. The pillow case read: Juliet. Evidently, it had been hand-made by his mother. Percy put it down gently, mumbling to himself, "How nice."

Walking around in the empty apartment, he found a note on the coffee table. Apparently Paul and his mom forgot they had to go to the doctor's for an ultrasound test today. The note said they didn't know how long it would take because the line was always long for this doctor, so they had left him some chicken and potatoes and some leftovers from this morning in the fridge. They also wrote…Love, Mom and Paul.

At least it was nice to know somebody still loved him.

He looked at the crib again, and muttered sadly. "I'm glad you'll know who your father is the moment you're born, Juliet."

* * *

><p>Then, he woke up.<p>

His eyes fluttered open and he saw the now-familiar sight of the inside of his car. Except the fact that he was sitting in the passenger's seat. He looked to his left and relaxed when he saw a sleeping Vivian.

_Now that I think about it, this is the second time I've ever seen her asleep_, he thought as he observed her quietly. He wondered if she was so tired she had allowed herself a little nap. The Vivian he knew didn't strike him as someone who would let her guard down and sleep in a place like this, especially when he hadn't been awake.

He noticed they were at the parking lot near the Army entrance. There was no one around, not even Rosamund or Hainsworth who were supposed to be in the back seat. He knew he should wake her up, but he didn't want to. Vivian looked so peaceful in her sleep he didn't want to disturb. And he knew she usually didn't get much sleep in a day. So he just settled to staring at her.

_She is really pretty_, he observed. _An icy kind of beauty. Refined and graceful like a princess, I guess?_

That reminded him. Vivian wasn't like a princess. She _was_ a real princess, according to Princess Liselotte. So what was a princess doing swinging her guns around?

As if she heard his thoughts, Vivian slowly opened her eyes. She turned around and looked right at him. Percy inwardly swore. He hadn't noticed their faces were so close. And now their noses almost touched, he could feel her breaths. He retreated back into his own seat.

"You're awake, Vivian," he coughed nervously.

She sat up in her seat. "Sorry I fell asleep. Thanks for waiting."

"Ah, that's not what I meant. Just…It's me who should be thanking. You waited for me to wake up. But next time it's all right to wake me up. I wouldn't really mind." He glanced at her a little. "Thanks, though."

"You're welcome," she nodded. "Actually it's my duty to ensure your safety anyway, so it's nothing."

"Oh." So there was also that.

"Rosa took Hainsworth to the Army a while ago because it'd be troublesome if he woke up and made a fuss. So I guess he should be at the Nesoi House about now. Or maybe at Chronus's. We should hurry back. I think you might want to see the Nesoi's methods of torture. It's pretty spectacular."

_Spetacular_, Percy gulped. "Well…Why not?"

As usual, they pulled their hoods up and ran along the roofs to avoid people. When they finally reached the Army gate, the two jumped down and walked normally. Percy stretched and yawned, feeling comfortable.

"What kind of dream were you having?" The girl beside him asked out of the blue.

"Oh…Uh, just a flashback, really. It's, well, actually the last time I came home. That's after I had met Chaos twice," he replied honestly. "I even left before I had the chance to see my little sister."

"It must have been hard, choosing to leave," Vivian remarked.

"Incredibly hard. But I did what was best for them, so I don't regret it," Percy admitted. "What about you? You never said anything except the part where you met and stayed with Erebus for a year."

She seemed uncomfortable about the topic and gave him a laconic reply. "Unlike you who left your loved ones behind to protect them, I left because I had no one left to protect. Rather, I couldn't afford to protect anyone besides myself. I was powerless."

"So…You were a princess?" He knew he was bringing up a dangerous topic, but he really wanted to know.

"I _was_. Not anymore." She glanced at him. "You know, you're the first one I admitted that to. I haven't said one word of this to Rosa. So please keep quiet, okay?"

"I know, you had to tell me because Princess Liselotte told me, right?"

"That's one thing. The other was because it wasn't fair for you. I mean, I did know everything about you when we first met, and you knew almost nothing about me."

Percy chuckled. "Totally. I thought you were kind of cold, when in fact, you're really nice!" Then he added, "If we get to do another mission together, let's talk more about _you_ rather than me, okay?"

"Is my story really that important?"

"Of course. You're, like, one of the closest friends I've got right now. I really, really need to get to know you better." When Vivian seemed to dislike the idea, Percy prompted, "Hmm, I wonder who made your making up with Rosamund possible? That guy deserves a reward!"

"Fine, Percy," she sighed. "You should put more of your efforts into your work, not this."

He grinned. "I'll note that."

Suddenly the guy on watch duty dropped down from above and greeted them, "What's up, guys? Uh, Vivian, I think Erebus needs you to call him right now. I mean, not _now_, but when you're back in your House. And Percy, someone from your House—your advisor or something—wanted me to tell you to come meet her at the city wall."

Vivian nodded. "I got it. Thanks." Then she turned to Percy. "Looks like something big came up. He usually waits for me until our calling time, which means this is important. I have to go. See you later, Percy."

"Yeah, see you," he called after her and turned to address the guy, "By the way, did Rosamund come by here?"

"Yeah, she came dragging—and trust me, when I say drag, I mean it—a guy along the ground. Said she was gonna head to the Nesoi House and asked where Theodora was."

"Theodora…You mean the Chronus General?"

"Theodora Hainsworth, yep," he nodded. "Why do you think she wants to know where she is?"

"That guy she brought with her is from Theodora's clan," he replied and gave him a little smile, "Hey, we've been talking for quite a while now and I haven't got to know your name."

"I'm Fred, from Phusis House. Glad to finally get the chance to talk to you, Percy."

"Me too." They shook hands. "Well, I've gotta go, you know it's a long drive from here all the way to the Outer City gate. Thanks again. Catch you later, Fred."

Percy sprinted back to where his car was parked. Really, if he or Nevada had some sort of a cellphone thing, it would have saved him the trip. So he made sure to remember to ask Chaos—or Jayden—for one when he got back from this little rendez-vous.

An hour later he was at the intersection between two sides of the planet: the Outer City Wall. He parked the car just before he reached the outpost. Okay, so he was supposed to look for a white cat that could speak and which, unfortunately, could be hiding anywhere near this wall that seemed to stretch to the length of the entire planet…Hmm, that sounded fantastic.

"I guess I could try asking the guards if they've seen a lost cat somewhere around here," he mumbled to himself.

"No need to," said a woman's voice next to him suddenly. Percy jumped, gaping at her.

In one word, she was stunning. And, well, white. She had pale, pale skin that seemed like it could glow and waist-long white straight hair. She was thin and dressed in a white gown. What was most striking about her was her eyes. They were so very, very blue. Those big electric-blue eyes that reminded him so well of…_Nah, that couldn't possibly be true._

"Who are you?" The question rushed out of his mouth as soon as he realized she was with him in the car without him even noticing when.

"Seriously, Percy? You don't recognize me? Oh, so without my fur and tail you can't remember me, is that it? What about my eyes and my voice, you stupid idiot. Looks like you and I are going to have to grind your recognition skills a little bit today," she crossed her arms and glared at him. Percy was shocked. He looked her up and down, and up again. This scolding voice couldn't belong to anyone else except his bossy cat.

"Nevada? Wh-What? You—You can turn into a human, too? And—you look—"

She flipped her hair confidently and grinned. "Absolutely gorgeous? Thanks for the compliment. Now save the chitchat for later. I need you to drive to the Northwest part of the grey area."

"Grey area?"

"That's another name for Death Section. So I got this device here," she gave him a 3D sticker that looked like a person's face. On a closer look, it was actually Chaos's face on that sticker. "It guides you around. Talks a lot, mostly nonsense, but helpful. I couldn't find any quieter ones. That stupid Chaos likes to chat with these when he's on a long road trip. So I got this one from him. I take it you'd call this thing GPS on Earth?"

"Why _his_ face?" Percy rolled his eyes.

He stared at the teeny-weeny sticker. On the sticker, Chaos was smiling broadly, his teeth showing. When the light hit the thing, Chaos's face changed into a troll face. He face-palmed.

Nevada studied his face and added, "It might not look like it but it's helpful, trust me. Now stick it on the windshield and let's get moving. Today I'll introduce you to some new stuff and discuss what you discovered during these away-missions."

The Chaos General dreadfully stuck Chaos' face on his windshield. Great, now he would see Chaos flashing that big grin at him every moment he would be driving. Just great.

'Hi, hi, hiiii! My name is Chaos Is Awesommme! as I was named by my previous master. Glad to make your acquaintance, master! Would you like to name me?'

Suddenly the thing just burst into life and started talking in an annoyingly cheery way. Worse, it sounded exactly like Chaos. Percy wanted to die.

"Name the thing," Nevada suggested.

'Name me, master, master, master!' Chaos Is Awesommme! kept talking and making noises.

"Uh, nah, how about we throw it away?" Percy sighed. "Hey, Nevada, you do realize that sometimes my friends ride in this car with me, right?"

"When it talks too much, just do this and that'll keep it quiet," she glared at the talking navigator and slapped it.

POW!

'Wahhhhh! Dead mode, activated.' Its eyes became crosses and the thing went absolutely quiet.

"Now when you want to use it, just say your destination. In this case, try saying Northwest region, Death Section," she instructed. Percy did as told and, surprisingly, information windows came out and floated in mid-air. The windows displayed detailed data, routes, and even a 3D model of the place.

"Wow, this is really some sci-fi stuff, cool!"

"You can tell it to change to self-drive mode when you want to rest. It can detect danger in a five-mile radius, and has defense and counterattack maneuvers. So this thing is very useful, well, if you keep swatting at it every hour. Cause the dead mode only lasts for a good hour and when it wakes up it's going to talk again."

"Wait, so why have I and Chaos been driving all this time? Why hasn't he told me about this thing?"

"Everybody in the Army has it, Percy. The only reason anybody wouldn't want to use it is because lately the agency has developed a detector that catches this thing's signals. So you can only use it in this planet unless you're absolutely sure you're in a safe place, or they're not going to catch you, or whatever reason you deem necessary to use it outside, got it?"

"Okay, sure. Thanks." Percy nodded and started driving. "So, why are we going to this Northwest part of the grey area?"

"Good question. I assume that as a demigod, you've killed countless monsters. Tell me, have you ever tamed one?"

He frowned. "Well, I'm on good terms with Mrs. O'Leary. She's a hellhound, but…No, I didn't tame her. Daedalus did. So, nope, I've never tamed a monster. Why? You're going to teach me how?"

"Exactly. It's time to get you a summon pet or two."

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>KimJoysu's Notes: <strong>Hey, guys. You know what, I don't even bother counting the months I've made you guys wait anymore, it makes me feel really bad. On the bright side, this one was a long chapter! Oh, I didn't really proofread it, again. I just skimmed though it, so excuse me if there are mistakes. So I'm a Senior now, wee. You guys know how busy that is. And to top it off I just came back from a year abroad. And guess what? I remember a few chapters ago I told you I haven't read HOO yet. Well, I _still_ haven't read it now either! See how busy I am?

Also, note to some reviewers. I know you guys want me to update faster, and believe me, I try. My eyesight has been getting worse too because I spend so much time writing fanfics. And just to make it clear, the only thing that keeps me going are your reviews. The nice ones, at least. You see, when someone asks you nicely to do something, you'd want to do it for them. (Especially the loyal readers) But when someone orders or threatens you to do something, you wouldn't want to do it, right? I don't want to complain too much because I know that hanging feeling you get when you're eagerly waiting for something. But, you know, at least can you _not_ do something like _**threatening me to update**_? That is not nice. Yes, I was a little…unsatisfied. But it doesn't mean I completely don't understand. It's fine. You can be like, goddammit update already xxxx (input bad word here). That's fine. I don't mind. I'd take it in a friendly way. But saying words like, hey, if you don't update I'll do this and that so you'd better update in, say, one week? Three days? I mean, if you were in my shoes, would you want to update? That's an order. It's a threat. And, like Percy, I don't like to be ordered around. Who does, really. So please stop doing that. You already see it had no effect on my updating routine. I update because I want to. I update because of you guys. I update _when_ I have time. I do _not_ update because I'm scared you'll post my work somewhere else.

Oh, and by the way. I don't care if my work gets copied. I got inspired by the Chaos fanfics anyway. I think you guys already noticed I'm not the first to write Chaos stories. More importantly, I know I have you guys who like my story the way it is. That is enough for me. If you want to post this somewhere, go ahead. See if I care. I'm happy the way it is now. Thank you very much.

I'm sorry I used this space to vent. I didn't want to make it big, like post a whole chapter just to complain. I feel like the good readers don't deserve that. But it was really bothering me so I had to say something. So…yeah. Next time this happens I'll just _ignore it_ for real. Let this be the first and last time I address this issue : ). The issues we'll always discuss is how long I take to update, right? Lol.

Oops, almost forgot. **Like it? Hate it? Please R&R!** I love you guys. Thanks for being such lovely readers.


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